Boman Irani, co-founder of Classic Legends, has been confirmed as the rightful owner of the Yezdi trademark by a Division Bench of the High Court of Karnataka in a verdict delivered on November 27, 2025. The ruling overturns a previous Single Judge order and closes a long-running IPR dispute.
Yezdi badge secured for retail under the Mahindra Group as HC overturns a previous order
Court cites 15+ years of legal abandonment by Ideal Jawa, the original licence-holder
Irani secures ownership of Jawa trademark
This judgement secures Classic Legends’s ability to retail the Yezdi badge in India
The court held that Irani’s trademark registrations comply with the provisions of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, overturning a previous Single Judge order and formally closing the case. In delivering its decision, the bench cited the actions of the original licence-holder, Ideal Jawa (India) Ltd, which had stopped motorcycle production in 1996 and allowed its trademark registrations to lapse for over 15 years with no attempt to renew, protect or commercially use the Yezdi name – an omission the court classified as clear legal abandonment.
The bench further noted that neither the company nor the official liquidator acted to sustain filings or market presence, concluding that the brand carried no surviving goodwill at liquidation and affirming that trademark rights, as intangible assets, exist only through active usage and timely statutory filings. This judgement secures Classic Legends’s ability to retail the Yezdi badge in India alongside Jawa Motorcycles and BSA Motorcycles under the Mahindra Group.
Industry analysts see this ruling as a key reference for future disputes involving dormant automotive trademarks, particularly where original owners let registrations expire and show no commercial stewardship. The verdict reinforces that trademark legitimacy is defined by renewal filings and real commercial action rather than historic association or sentiment alone, making it a significant precedent for manufacturers aiming to revive legacy nameplates through lawful acquisition and demonstrated usage.
Vishal Venugopal
Dinshaw Magol
