Blog post by Junior Associate, Amanda Cipriano
History of Supreme
Supreme was founded in 1994 by James Jebbia.[1] What began as a small apparel and skateboard shop has since expanded into one of the leading streetwear brands.[2] Rather than releasing its entire season’s collection at once, Supreme is known for its highly competitive weekly drops.[3] Many items are sold out in a matter of seconds and are even resold on third party websites such as StockX, eBay, and Grailed.[4]
Over the years, Supreme has had countless collaborations with other brands and celebrities.[5] No matter who the collaboration is with, Supreme is always easily identified by its infamous red box logo, a sign of hype and status among the “hypebeast” community.[6]
Delhi High Court
It is this infamous logo that has just been warranted protection as a well-known mark under section 2(zg) of the Indian Trade Marks Act of 1999 by the Delhi High Court.[7] According to section 2(zg), a well-known trademark regarding any good or service is a regarded as a mark that is a “substantial segment of the public which uses such goods or receives such services that the use of such mark in relation to other goods or services would be likely to be taken as indicating a connection in the course of trade or rendering of services between those goods or services and a person using the mark in relation to the first-mentioned goods or services.”[8]
Prior to this decree, Supreme filed a suit against Punjabi Adda for using Supreme’s red box logo on its own products and selling them on its own website.[9] Supreme sought both a permanent injunction and decree to recognize Supreme’s red-box device mark as well-known mark.[10]
In a decision made on July 11, 2023, Justice Prathiba M. Singh ultimately granted recognition of Supreme’s red-box device mark as a “well known” mark.[11] The suit ended in a settlement whereby the defendant agreed not to file an application to register plaintiff’s marks or anything similar as a trademark or copyright.[12]
[1] Tom Huddleston Jr., How Supreme Went From a Small NYC Skateboard Shop to a $2.1 Billion Global Phenomenon, ᴄɴʙᴄ (Oct, 10, 2019, 3:02 PM), https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/10/how-supreme-went-from-small-nyc-skateboard-shop-to-a-global-phenomenon.html
[2] Id.
[3] Avalon Ffooks and Zak Maoui, Beat The Supreme Drop System With Ease, ɢǫ (Mar. 5, 2021), https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/beat-the-supreme-drop-system
[4] Andrea Tuzio, In How Many Seconds Do Supreme Items Sell Out?, ɴss ᴍᴀɢᴀᴢɪɴᴇ (Mar. 19, 2019), https://www.nssmag.com/en/fashion/18056/in-quanti-secondi-vanno-sold-out-gli-item-supreme#:~:text=For%20the%20past%204%2F5,with%20a%20handful%20of%20flies.; Katherine Bowers, Supreme: What’s the Shelf Life of Hype?, Fᴏʀʙᴇs Iɴᴅɪᴀ (Jul. 2, 2021, 10:45 AM), https://www.forbesindia.com/article/darden-school-of-business/supreme-whats-the-shelf-lifes-of-hype/68875/1
[5] How Supreme Became so Popular Worldwide, Nᴏᴠᴇʟsʜɪᴘ (May 29, 2020), https://novelship.com/news/how-supreme-became-so-popular-worldwide/
[6] Id.; Huddleston, supra note 1.
[7] Supreme’s Box Logo is a “Well-Known” Trademark, Per Indian Court, Tʜᴇ Fᴀsʜɪᴏɴ Lᴀᴡ, (July 26, 2023), https://www.thefashionlaw.com/supreme-box-logo-is-a-well-known-trademark-per-indian-court/
[8] The Trade Marks Act, 1999 (Act. No. 47/1999).
[9] Simranjeet, Delhi High Court Declares ‘Supreme’ Red-Box Device Mark as a ‘Well-Known’ Trade Mark for Apparel and Clothing, sᴄᴄ ᴏɴʟɪɴᴇ ʙʟᴏɢ (July 22, 2023), https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2023/07/22/delhi-hc-declares-supreme-red-box-device-mark-as-a-well-known-trade-mark-legal-news/
[10] Id.
[11] Id.
[12] Id.