Supreme Court allows Cognizant to use hexagonal logo in India

Cognizant

The Supreme Court, on August 8, allowed information technology major Cognizant Technology Solutions to use its hexagonal logo in India, granting interim relief to the Nasdaq-listed firm. The order comes after the company challenged a Bombay High Court directive that had barred it from using the logo in the country.

The case, a rare trademark dispute involving a large IT services provider, will continue to be heard in the apex court.

Cognizant, which employs nearly three-fourths of its global workforce in India, has been locked in a battle with Bengaluru-based fintech Atyati Technologies Pvt. Ltd. Atyati alleged that its orange hexagonal honeycomb device mark, used since 2019, was infringed upon.

After hearing both sides, the apex court set aside the Division Bench ruling that had restricted the firm from using its logo and restored the earlier Bombay High Court order that had declined to continue the injunction.

The Supreme Court also directed the Single Judge’s Bench of the Bombay High Court to expedite the disposal of the injunction application within six months.

"Cognizant filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) against the Division Bench's order before the Hon'ble Supreme Court. The Supreme Court, after hearing the parties,  set aside the Division Bench's order, which had previously restricted Cognizant from using the logo. The Supreme Court restored the earlier order of the Bombay High Court refusing to continue the injunction against Cognizant. The Supreme Court also directed the expeditious disposal of the injunction application by the Single Judges Bench, Bombay High Court, within six months," a Cognizant spokesperson said.

The Teaneck-headquartered company countered that Atyati was aware of its branding since 2022 but only raised objections in October 2023, by when the hexagonal logo had already been rolled out across platforms, including social media, as part of the firm’s global brand identity.

Cognizant had recently removed its logo from major social media platforms, including LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and YouTube, following a legal setback in a trademark dispute.

Atyati Technologies, according to its LinkedIn account, was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Bengaluru. Over 1,400 employees spread across 100 offices work with 21 banking and financial institutions offering technology that enables about Rs 3,000 crore transaction turnover every month. The company has raised $2.5 million in seed funding, according to Crunchbase data on its profile.

What the Court Battle is About

Moneycontrol, on May 10, 2024, reported that present and former staff were perplexed when their social media profiles and work histories suddenly displayed “Innovate” in place of the Cognizant logo.

Employee messaging groups were abuzz then with questions such as “What is Innovate?”, “Have you heard of this company?”, and “When did I work there?” The shift came after the March order restraining the company from using its previous branding in India.

When asked whether the company has changed the logo because of the recent court order, Cognizant had told Moneycontrol, “We do not comment on sub-judice matters. Cognizant respects third-party intellectual properties, while remaining committed to protecting its own business interests and IPs.”

A Cognizant spokesperson further said, “We are temporarily using ‘innovate’ as a header on our social media channels to commemorate the one-year anniversary of our Bluebolt innovation initiative, celebrating the central role innovation plays in Cognizant's culture and our commitment to developing 200,000 ideas by the end of 2024.”

The spokesperson further added, "We launched the campaign on World Innovation Day and expect it to run through May."

The US-headquartered firm introduced Bluebolt, a grassroots innovation programme, for its global associates to devise and submit ideas to advance clients' success.

Atyati Technologies claimed that its orange-coloured hexagonal honeycomb logo was being used by Cognizant. It argued that any confusion with the US-based company’s logo could damage its business interests and reputation.