Delhi High Court Sets Aside Refusal To Register 'COBBLE STONE' Trademark

Justice Vikas Mahajan allowed the appeal after the Registrar's counsel said it had no objection to a remand. The Registrar must now decide the application within 60 days.

Cobble Stone applied to register “COBBLE STONE” in Class 19. On August 6, 2025, the Registrar refused it under Section 11 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, holding it deceptively similar to two earlier-cited marks, which are said to have been in use since February 18, 1988.

In its appeal under Section 91 of the Act, Cobble Stone said it had asked the Registrar, in a Form TM-M dated July 31, 2025, to adjourn the hearing so it could file documents.

It says it has used the mark since 2011, and the documents were invoices to prove that use. It also argued that the Registrar failed to consider that it is an honest concurrent user of the mark under Section 12 of the Act.

On February 19, 2026, the Court asked the Registrar's counsel to seek instructions on two questions: whether the matter could be remanded for fresh consideration, and whether the mark could be accepted if Cobble Stone limited its use to the Delhi/NCR region with a disclaimer, given the extent of use of the cited mark.

The Registrar's instructions, handed over by counsel, said the Court “may remand back the matter for reconsideration and Trademark Registry will follow the direction”. On the territorial limit, they said “the matter will be decided on merit”.

The Court noted the Registrar had no objection to a remand, and that the territorial question would be decided by the Registrar on merit.

It allowed the appeal, set aside the order of August 6, 2025, and remanded the application for de novo consideration.

The Registrar must decide it within 60 days of the order.

For Cobble Stone: Advocates Siddharth Yadav, Nageshwar Kumhar, Ayush Dey and Anmol Pandey

For Registrar: CGSC Satya Ranjan Swain with Govt. Pleader Debasish Mishra and Advocates Sanskar Gupta and Tushar Hazrati