Signs, Symbols, and Supremes: How Streetwear Trademarks Are Redefining IP

Introduction

You've probably come across a tiger logo some time before. Its image is typically printed in black ink, circled by a stamp-like seal. This particular logo is the designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee's trademark, and a lot of you have possibly bought a copy of it at a Chandni Chowk, for a very cheap price. That tiger, and the story about what happens to it in the congested lanes of Old Delhi, is a great tool to talk about intellectual property, streetwear, and the very idea of ownership of a symbol in India.

After all, the intellectual property debate in the streetwear industry isn't just going on in New York courthouses or among Italian fashion houses. It is happening in our streets, through Instagram promotional videos, at the Delhi High Court, and with the designers who are still struggling to bring the law on their side in order to protect a cultural aesthetic that by nature, is constantly changing.

Emergence of Streetwear in India

India's streetwear movement did not start with investors and brand decks. Instead, it was a result of a shared frustration with fast fashion that was too foreign, with traditional clothes that were uncomfortable, and with a fashion industry that appeared to be ignoring the desires of young Indians who were, at the same time, immersing themselves in hip-hop, skateboarding, and Bollywood.

The brands such as HUEMN (Pranav Misra and Shyma Shetty, NIFT Bangalore founders) based their identity on this tension. They utilized hand-embroidered portraits, visually political, gender-neutral silhouettes. Mumbai's Jaywalking went farther, hand-drawing every piece and personifying every illustration. Almost Gods from New Delhi combined Indian mythology with larger fits and bold typography. Six5Six merged politics and pop culture into releases that were more like events than product launches.

These brands didn't care much about trademark registration initially as they wanted to create authentic pieces, something that reflected the changing identity of youth in India through their clothes. But, when something becomes actual, has values, communities, and recognition, other people also want a share. The intellectual property issues come up, in such cases.

The Meaning of the Signs and Symbols

Indian streetwear visually communicates in a very unique and distinct manner. Putting logos on clothes is never the limit for the market. Through this they have made this streetwear almost like a new language to communicate. Like, Hindi alphabets on a hoodie, graffiti style art done on images from ancient Indian stories or merging the look of a kurta with big shapes. These are not mere embedding of these signs and symbols on clothes but they really signify who you are to the world.

Indian laws say that you can protect your identity statement but you first need to establish its uniqueness. The Trade Marks Act, 1999 is the legislation which governs trademark registration and enforcement in India. It covers words, names, symbols, devices, and even trade dress (the overall look and feel of a brand). In theory, a distinctive visual language, such as that of HUEMN or Jaywalking, might be considered for protection. However, in reality, most small streetwear brand owners only register their marks after a problem has arisen. The law also recognizes "well-known marks", which are brands that have become so popular that they enjoy special protection even outside their registered categories. While global giants like Adidas easily meet this criterion, for a local streetwear brand with a loyal but niche fan base, it is very difficult to reach this level.

This gap between the flourishing cultural scene and the limited legal protection is actually the issue that most Indian streetwear brands are facing at the moment.

When the Courts Got Involved

Usually, the major and most significant disputes in Indian fashion do not occur among the streetwear brands, but rather between the global companies striving to protect their trademarks in India and the local players. These cases vividly illustrate how the system works and also reveal who it mainly benefits. Adidas AG got a favorable judgment from the Delhi High Court in 2024 against an Indian entity that had been using the "ADIDAS" name for over two decades. The local owner's story that the name was their personal and a tribute to a family member was turned down and a permanent injunction was issued. This is basically a trademark lawsuit by the book based on prior use, consumer confusion, and brand dilution. It also draws attention to the very slow progress of these cases, two decades and one judgment.

Famous designer of luxury garments Tarun Tahiliani in his book titled “Tarun Tahiliani: Journey to India Modern” narrated once that one day he visited Chandni Chowk and saw salespeople enthusiastically putting on show for customers copies of his lehengas without knowing who he was.

This story, sadly, is not the only one; it is quite normal for Indian designers who want to enforce their intellectual property rights in informal markets to encounter this kind of law situation. The law is there; it's the law enforcement that is the problem.

The Chandni Chowk Question

The replica market is a very big, well-connected, and even has its own modus operandi. Everyone is aware of it but is widely ignored. If you go to the streets near Chandni Chowk, you will find replicas of Sabyasachi lehengas, Manish Malhotra embroidered costumes, and Tarun Tahiliani draped outfits at prices that are affordable to a middle-class bride who admires designer clothes but cannot buy the original ones. One shopkeeper in Chandni Chowk said, "Not everyone can afford these expensive designers, so we are the solution."

This idea of making designer products accessible to more people should not be completely dismissed as it addresses a real concern. At the same time, it complicates the designer's challenge of establishing a successful business. When the gap between the price a designer demands and what the majority can afford is very wide, the replica market ends up fulfilling an existing demand.

Sabyasachi has even issued a public statement admitting that the duplicate items exist. This is a very down to earth way of thinking on the part of a designer who is self-assured enough about the power of his brand to allow for the negative impact. However, small streetwear entrepreneurs normally don't have that level of generosity. For them, a graphic or a copied logo that is the same is not a compliment but rather a loss of income and a weakened brand, and in most cases, they hardly have any way of pursuing the infringers in the court of law.

Who Gets Protected, and Who Doesn't

The biggest issue in the intellectual property discussion around Indian streetwear is that the framework always seems to favour people who have resources while those without are at a severe disadvantage.

It is perfectly reasonable for a global brand like Adidas to do market research in Karol Bagh, buy counterfeit goods as evidence, file a case in Delhi District Court, and get a permanent injunction, just like they did against a street vendor in 2024. This is trademark law at work, fuelled by money, lawyers, and determination.

Now, imagine a first-generation streetwear entrepreneur from Mumbai or Hyderabad coming across their design getting copied by a fast fashion online aggregator or seeing their logo on t-shirts being sold at a local weekend market. They turn to the same law system but with only a tiny bit of resources: Filing fees, legal expenses, the time needed to collect evidence, and the uncertainty of how long a case will be dragged out together form a very high barrier.

Trade Marks Act provides for injunctions, damages, and criminal sanctions against counterfeiting. However, the reality of accessing these remedies is very different from one case to another. And since some of the most exciting and innovative fashion pieces worldwide come from young, independent designers who in many cases come from outside the traditional fashion scene, it is this culture-rich segment that suffers the most as a result of this unequal distribution.

Way Forward

Indian streetwear brands are not waiting for legal reforms. They are building such loyal fan bases that even counterfeit products cannot replace them. Scarcity resulting from limited edition releases is a factor that copycats simply cannot imitate. Many founders are unveiling their brand IPs through Instagram ahead of filing a trademark and turn to social media for the accountability that emerges when copies appear.

But withstanding adapting to a flawed system, it is not the same as tackling the issue. Here are a few things that could really make a difference:

Expedited registrations. The IP Office still takes such a long time in processing trademarks that most of the times, a brand gets copied before it is even registered. The Indian government has initiated large-scale changes to update the intellectual property system making it more efficient and friendly to the users. These changes include removing unnecessary steps, moving the system online, providing ways to get the work done faster, and making the system stronger and more capable.

Enforceable rights. Offering legal support to those who face IP infringement cases, or implementing "fast-track" special procedures for fashion brands, may bring systemic changes for people in the current legal structure. The Delhi High Court IP Division has been very effective but only for those who have enough money to hire this particular court.

Design protections. The Designs Act of 2000 gives protection for industrial designs that are unique, but in Indian fashion the signature motifs and silhouettes that make up a brand's identity are usually falling somewhere in the grey area and are not fully covered by either design or trademark laws.

Conclusion

Without doubt, Indian streetwear is one of the most invigorating developments in fashion today. And it's not just a fleeting fashion phenomenon; it's actually the emergence of an entirely new visual language that reflects the interplay of India's culture, sub-culture, politics, and history.

India's Intellectual Property (IP) regime is still experimenting with ways to protect Indian streetwear from counterfeiting. The courts don't move very fast, and Indian IP rights registrations are quite cumbersome. Founders face a significant gap between what the law says and what they can physically do to protect their work. Actually, this is not the first time. Whenever a new artistic movement like Gully Music emerges, courts can never be quite up to date. The only genuine question is whether the court ever manages to catch up.

Author: Utkarsh Singhal, in case of any queries please contact/write back to us via email to chhavi@khuranaandkhurana.com or at  Khurana & Khurana, Advocates and IP Attorney.

Endnotes

1. The Trade Marks Act, 1999 (Act No. 47 of 1999), Government of India, available at https://www.indiacode.nic.in, accessed 26 June 2026.

2. The Designs Act, 2000 (Act No. 16 of 2000), Government of India, available at https://www.indiacode.nic.in, accessed 26 June 2026.

3. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Trade Marks Rules, 2017 and IP administration resources, Government of India, available at https://ipindia.gov.in, accessed 26 June 2026.

4. Adidas AG v Adidas Aman (2024), Delhi High Court (commercial trademark infringement proceedings concerning unauthorized use of the "ADIDAS" mark). Delhi High Court Orders/Commercial Courts database, accessed 26 June 2026.

5. S. Syed Mohideen v P. Sulochana Bai, (2016) 2 SCC 683 (Supreme Court of India) (affirming the superiority of prior user rights under Indian trademark law).

6. World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), What is a Trademark? available at https://www.wipo.int/trademarks/en/, accessed 26 June 2026.

7. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Annual Report 2024–25, Government of India, available at https://dpiit.gov.in, accessed 26 June 2026.

8. Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, National IPR Policy, 2016, available at https://dpiit.gov.in, accessed 26 June 2026.