OrderInn.com sues Google Ventures-backed Ordr.in over name

Company claims trademark infringement.

Las Vegas company Order Inn, Inc., which uses the domain name OrderInn.com, has sued startup Ordr.in for trademark infringement.

Order Inn is a food service provider that connects hotels without their own room service to nearby restaurants — hence the “Inn” instead of “In” in its name. (I give branding credit to the company; it also owns OrderIn.com.)

Ordr.in is a Google Ventures-backed company that helps restaurants manage their menus and online ordering capabilities.

Order Inn is upset about the startup’s name and claims it is infringing on its trademarks for “Order Inn”.

While most of Ordr.in’s business has nothing to do with Order Inn’s business, Ordr.in does promote a “virtual room service” offering.

It will be interesting to see how this place out. To me, “order in” is a common term for restaurant delivery. Order Inn (with two n’s) is a unique brand given its hotel connotation, but Ordr.in is clearly short for “Order In” rather than “Order Inn”.

Regardless, if I were Ordr.in I’d use this as an excuse to upgrade its awful domain name.

You can view the lawsuit here (pdf).