A division bench of the Karnataka High Court has ruled that Classic Legends co-founder Boman R. Irani has legitimate rights to the Yezdi trademark. The High Court overturned the previous decision of the single judge and held that Ideal Java’s non-use of the trademark for a long period and non-renewal of the registration amounted to abandonment of the trademark and confirmed Irani’s legitimate rights over the brand.
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The High Court found that Ideal Jawa (India) Pvt Ltd had stopped using the trademark after it stopped manufacturing Yezdi branded motorcycles in 1996, allowed the registration to lapse and took no steps to protect it. The court said that the official liquidator did not renew the registration of the trademark, which had expired between 2007 and 2013, although the trademark authority had issued notices.
In its order dated November 27, 2025, the high court said that both Ideal Java and the official liquidator were inactive in using or renewing the trademark. When Yezdi Ideal was the sole business of Java, the official liquidator cannot claim ignorance of the existence of the trademark. The High Court said that due to no business for 30 years, no renewal, no use, no security and no mention of the trademark in the sale of the asset, the goodwill was extinguished.
The court overturned the single judge’s previous order of 2022, which had declared Ideal Java (India) Limited, Mysore, the owner of the Yezdi trademark and barred Irani, Classic Legends and others from using the “Yezdi” trademark. The division bench of the High Court held that the amount payable to Ideal Java in liquidation has no relation to the value of its trademark, and said that the official liquidator cannot treat the alleged debts as equivalent to the trademark value.
Commenting on the verdict, Boman Irani, Co-Founder of Classic Legends and Chairman and MD of Rustomjee Group, said, “This verdict feels more important than a lucky personal win for my family’s legacy. It reaffirms that the tenacity to keep heritage brands alive never goes in vain. The Honorable Court and judges have supported our efforts to revive Yezdi through innovation and legitimate means.”
Boman Irani’s father drew the Yezdi logo on a piece of paper in 1969 when Czech motorcycle brand Jawa’s original licensing agreement with Ideal Jawa expired. Subsequently, the Yezdi brand was established to continue manufacturing these iconic machines. Ideal Java ceased manufacturing in 1996 and was liquidated in 2001.
Although Ideal Java and the official liquidator failed to renew the trademark registration, the High Court noted that Boman Irani actively worked to revive the famous brand, first by legally obtaining the necessary trademark registration in 2013-14. Ultimately he founded Classic Legends in 2015 along with Anupam Thareja and the Mahindra Group, with the sole aim of bringing back the glory days of the Yezdi brand. Classic Legends relaunches the Yezdi brand in 2022 with three models.
