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ADS Spirits Pvt. Ltd. vs. The Registrar of Trade Marks

Letters Patent Appeal · 2026:DHC:7891Decided 15 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
LPA 688/2026CNR: DLHC010417692026
Justice Avneesh Jhingan · Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora

Background

The appellant company had applied to register the trademark "OFFER" for alcoholic beverages, but the Trade Marks Registry rejected it as non-distinctive. A Single Judge of the High Court had earlier found the Registry applied the wrong legal test and sent the application back for fresh consideration, but did not order the mark to be advertised or accepted outright, as the appellant wanted. The appellant filed this further appeal seeking a direct order that its mark be processed and published.

Decision Breakdown

The Division Bench held that publication of a trademark under the Trade Marks Act only happens after an application is formally "accepted," and this application had not yet reached that stage. It agreed with the Single Judge's approach of sending the matter back to the trademark authorities for fresh, correct examination rather than the High Court deciding registrability itself, especially since the Registry was already re-examining the application per the earlier order. Finding no legal error, the appeal was dismissed.

Lesson Learnt

Courts generally will not step into the shoes of specialist regulatory bodies (like the Trade Marks Registry) to grant registration directly; where an examination error is found, the usual remedy is to send the matter back for the authority to redo its job properly, not for the court to approve the application itself.

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