The owners of the Salitre Meson Costero restaurant in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, have sued Hilton International of Puerto Rico Inc., in the U.S. District Court for Puerto Rico [3:19-cv-02165] for trademark infringement and unfair competition by using the name Salitre and then Salitre de Caribe for a restaurant in its Caribe Hilton hotel. Plaintiffs are seeking an injunction, $4 million in damages, and $650,000 for corrective advertising.
Hilton used the name briefly in 2019, but promptly changed the name to Nectar de Caribe after plaintiffs initially complained, a move that plaintiff’s claim “proves that the Defendants have recognized the willful confusion they caused.” Plaintiff’s further complain that Defendants keep using the menus intended to evoke the views, feelings, environment and characteristics that “Salitre Meson Costero” evokes, including “the view, the palm trees and the whole tropical sea motif.”
