Bombay High Court bars Cognizant from using its logo in India till the case ends

The Bombay High Court has stopped US-based IT giant Cognizant Technology Solutions from using its logo in India until a trademark dispute with Bengaluru-based Atyati Technologies is resolved.

On Tuesday, a division bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep Marrne overturned an earlier order from June 2024, which had allowed Cognizant to continue using its logo during the case. The court restored its March 2024 decision that had banned the company from using the logo until the final outcome of the lawsuit.

Atyati Technologies filed the case in 2023 claiming that Cognizant copied its logo, which features a hexagonal honeycomb design. Atyati said it has been using its logo since 2019, while Cognizant adopted a similar design in 2022. The company alleged this amounted to trademark infringement and passing off, meaning the public could be misled into thinking Cognizant’s services were linked to Atyati.

Initially, the court sided with Atyati and granted a temporary injunction in March 2024. However, in June 2024, a single judge lifted the ban after Cognizant argued that Atyati had hidden facts and misled the court about when it became aware of Cognizant’s logo. Cognizant pointed out that its logo was publicly displayed on LinkedIn in the Trademark Journal and in US filings as early as 2022.

Atyati appealed, insisting that it only learned of Cognizant’s logo in October 2023 through a magazine article and then issued a legal notice.

The division bench ruled that while parties must disclose full facts, Atyati’s alleged suppression was not serious enough to cancel the injunction. It added that the lower court should have first heard Cognizant’s  response before removing the ban.

The court concluded that, ‘In our view, therefore, the order dated 13 June 2024 discontinuing the ad-interim injunction is indefensible and liable to be set aside.”

As a result, Cognizant remains barred from using its logo in India until the case is decided.