The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday set aside a Bombay High Court ruling that had barred Cognizant Technology Solutions from using a mark claimed to closely resemble the registered “ATYATI” device mark of Atyati Technologies.  

A Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and R Mahadevan said, "The order is set aside. The order under dated June 13, 2024 is restored. We are of the opinion that Division Bench erred in passing the order. This order will operate till the single judge decides the matter on merits. We request the single judge to decide the matter in six months. The single judge may decide the case without being influenced by this order."

The case revolves around claims of trademark and copyright infringement. Atyati had alleged that Cognizant was using a logo deceptively similar to its registered ATYATI device mark.

In March 2024, Atyati filed a commercial intellectual property suit before the Bombay High Court. Along with the suit, it sought an interim injunction to stop Cognizant from using the logo. On March 19, 2024, a single judge granted an ex-parte ad-interim injunction, restricting Cognizant from infringing Atyati’s copyright in the artistic work forming the ATYATI mark, the news report said.

Once Cognizant appeared in court, it challenged the injunction, claiming that Atyati had misrepresented the timeline of when it became aware of Cognizant’s use. Cognizant argued that Atyati knew about the logo’s use since 2022, citing a cease-and-desist notice issued by Atyati on October 30, 2023, which stated that Cognizant had adopted the mark in 2022. This contradicts Atyati’s claim that it learned about the logo only in October 2023.

On June 13, 2024, the single judge sided with Cognizant, vacating the injunction. The judge held that Atyati had suppressed material facts and made a false statement to secure ex-parte relief. The court reasoned that had it known about the 2022 use, it would not have granted the injunction without notice.

Atyati challenged the decision, arguing that the cease-and-desist notice only repeated information from an online article dated October 1, 2023, and that its actual knowledge of Cognizant’s logo use arose only then. Atyati also pointed out that in December 2023, Cognizant itself described the adoption of the logo as “most recently”, supporting Atyati’s claim. The company insisted there was no deliberate suppression, and any confusion was merely a matter of unclear pleadings.

A Division Bench of the then Chief Justice of Telangana High Court, Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep V Marne observed that the October 2023 notice could be interpreted in different ways and did not conclusively prove that Atyati knew of the logo in 2022. The Bench also noted that Cognizant’s December 2023 reply, calling the logo adoption “most recent", could reasonably have led Atyati to believe the use was recent. The court found the allegation of suppression to be debatable rather than conclusive.  Following the SC's ruling on Monday, a Cognizant spokesperson said, "Cognizant filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) against the Division Bench's order before the 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."