IMG had earlier demanded an apology from Clarke, who in an email to the Indian cricket board, allegedly accused the company of promoting rebel cricket.
The writ was served in the High Court Queen's Bench Division and Clarke, who is in the Caribbean at the World Twenty20, will now be allowed time to acknowledge receipt and formulate his response to the action.
The Daily Telegraph reported that IMG felt Clarke's remarks have questioned the firm's integrity and could endanger its contracts with Cricket South Africa and Cricket Australia.
The daily said that a public apology is a tricky option for Clarke, who also attacked Lalit Modi and the three counties which attended a meeting in Delhi to discuss Twenty20 cricket.
There is pressure on the ECB for a review of Twenty20 cricket in this country and the row with IMG could not have come at a worse time.
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