Delhi High Court Temporarily Restrains Use Of Jeans Pocket Stitching Designs Similar To Levi's Arcuate Mark

Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora delivered the judgment on May 29, 2026. The court observed that "the Defendant's adoption of deceptively similar stitching designs for their brand INTEGRITI and KILLER, despite prior acknowledgment of the Plaintiff's proprietary rights, prima facie reflects dishonest adoption."

It was submitted that Levi Strauss has used the Arcuate Stitching Design, a double-arc pattern on the back pocket of its jeans, since 1873. It holds Indian trademark registrations for the mark since 1979.

A coordinate bench of the Delhi High Court had previously declared it a well-known mark in 2022, noting it had "acquired secondary meaning due to extensive use spanning over one and a half century."

In 2014, Levi Strauss first noticed that Kewal Kiran was selling jeans under its Killer brand bearing a near-identical stitching design. A cease-and-desist notice in 2015 went unanswered.

A trademark infringement suit filed in 2017 before the Saket District Court was returned for want of territorial jurisdiction. Kewal Kiran then countered with a design infringement suit before the Bombay High Court in 2018, which was stayed by the Supreme Court.

The parties eventually entered into a Settlement Agreement in May 2019. Under it, Kewal Kiran acknowledged Levi Strauss's superior rights in the Arcuate mark and agreed to discontinue infringing designs.

The present suit was filed after Levi Strauss discovered fresh violations. In June 2024, it found Kewal Kiran using stitching designs on its Integriti jeans that allegedly fell within the Agreement's prohibited category.

In January 2025, it further found the Killer brand jeans bearing designs akin to those in Annexure G, which Kewal Kiran had expressly agreed to cancel. The defendant did not respond substantively despite repeated notices.

On the Killer stitching designs, Kewal Kiran argued that its designs were merely a variation of permitted designs in Annexures C, D and E. The court rejected this. It found that a "common thread in each of the prohibited designs was that the arcs met at the centre of the pocket," while the permitted designs consistently had a left or right indent.

The impugned Killer design, with its pointed arcs meeting near the centre, was prima facie closer to the prohibited designs. The court also noted the defendant had claimed to discontinue similar designs in 2023, only to revive them.

On the Integriti designs, Kewal Kiran argued its two-stitch, centred design was technically different from the four-stitch design in Annexure F. The court found this unpersuasive. "The microscopic difference between the two designs is irrelevant and would fail to register in the mind of the consumer," it held.

It further noted that Kewal Kiran's own design registration for the impugned Integriti mark was obtained in September 2021, after the Settlement Agreement, and could not be used to override the plaintiff's rights.

On the Lawman Pg3 designs, however, the court declined to grant relief. It noted the design was not covered under the Settlement Agreement and that Kewal Kiran held valid trademark registrations for it since 2013.

The court found it difficult to understand why this design was not addressed when the Agreement was negotiated in 2019. Levi Strauss was given liberty to lead evidence on similarity at trial.

Kewal Kiran has been directed to stop manufacturing and selling Killer and Integriti jeans bearing the impugned designs with immediate effect. Retailers already holding stock have been granted a four-month window to clear it.

The matter is listed next on July 10, 2026.

For Levi Strauss: Senior Advocate Chander M. Lall with Advocates Urfee Roomi, Janaki Arun, Jaskaran Singh, Annanya Mehan and Arpit Singhal

For Kewal Kiran Clothing: Senior Advocate J. Sai Deepak with Advocates Avinash and Soumya Gulati