The case, a rare trademark dispute involving a major information technology services firm seeking the intervention of the apex court, is scheduled for hearing on Monday, according to filings reviewed by Mint.

Cognizant, which employs nearly three-fourths of its global workforce in India, has been battling a case concerning its hexagonal logo after a Bengaluru-based fintech firm, Atyati Technologies Pvt. Ltd, challenged its ownership in 2023.

Atyati filed the infringement suit in 2023, claiming its device mark—an orange hexagonal honeycomb, slightly inclined in design—had been in use since 2019 to symbolise collaboration, compassion and impact.

Cognizant countered that Atyati was aware of its logo since 2022 but claimed knowledge only in October 2023. The company alleged that Atyati suppressed this fact when it first sought the injunction.

In March 2024, a single-judge bench of the Bombay high court restrained Cognizant from using its logo, holding that the similarities with Atyati’s mark could mislead the public and that Atyati had established a strong case.

But in June 2024, another judge lifted the ban, citing records showing that Cognizant had been using the logo since 2022.

On appeal, however, a division bench of the Bombay high court led by Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep V. Marne restored the injunction on 26 August.

It rejected Cognizant’s plea of suppression, noting: “It is difficult to conclusively hold that the plaintiff (Atyati) deliberately suppressed information about when it became aware of the defendant’s (Cognizant’s) use of the impugned logo. Even if some non-disclosure could be remotely attributed to the plaintiff, such an allegation would not affect its entitlement to a temporary injunction.”

Following the order, Cognizant stopped using the contested logo on its website and social media handles. Cognizant maintains a detailed seven-page guideline on logo usage—a rarity among Indian IT outsourcers.

This is also not the first time Cognizant has experimented with its branding. In May 2024, it temporarily used the prefix “innovate” in job postings and social media profiles to mark the anniversary of its Bluebolt innovation programme.

Queries emailed to Cognizant remained unanswered till press time.

Cognizant is not new to legal tussles. The tech services provider has been embroiled in three legal cases related to poaching and alleged theft over the last few years, with one still ongoing.

In September 2023, Cognizant announced Jatin Dalal as its chief financial officer, a week after the former CFO of Wipro Ltd resigned. Subsequently, the Bengaluru-based IT services firm filed a complaint in a Bengaluru city court, alleging that Dalal had not adhered to the employment contract, which restricted him from working with Wipro’s rivals for a period of up to one year. Wipro sought ₹25.1 crore in damages from Dalal.

A similar case had been filed in the New Jersey district court against Mohd Ehteshamul Haque, formerly Wipro’s head of healthcare and medical devices, a few months later in December 2023. Haque joined Cognizant in August 2023 as its chief commercial officer for the Americas region shortly after leaving Wipro in June 2023.

Wipro agreed to settle both cases after Cognizant paid Dalal ₹4.2 crore as settlement money and reimbursed his legal fees; however, the terms of the settlement for the case involving Haque are not known.

Cognizant is also currently embroiled in a legal dispute with Bengaluru-based Infosys Ltd. over claims that the former misappropriated its trade secrets for its healthcare payor software to create a rival product. What started a year ago took twists and turns, with Infosys publicly naming Cognizant’s chief executive, S. Ravi Kumar, for engaging in anti-competitive practices.

Not only did Infosys deny the allegations, but it also informed the court on 28 February that Cognizant’s mention of broad categories of trade secrets did not qualify as specific trade secrets that are alleged to have been stolen.

According to a Mint report on 27 May, the Dallas court directed Cognizant and Infosys to discuss and settle any disagreements regarding information they shall share before trial.

Cognizant ended the April-June 2025 quarter $5.25 billion in revenue, up 2.54% sequentially and 8.14% year-on-year. Banks and financial institutions accounted for more than three-fifths of its $130 million in incremental revenue.

However, concerns surrounding its ability to grow organically still linger, as most of its growth was boosted by a single acquisition. Mint reported on 31 July that its organic growth had slipped.