Plainview firm rebrands itself as Raj Technologies
Workers install new signage in Plainview on Thursday as Infosys International rebrands itself as Raj Technologies. Credit: Danielle Silverman
This time the lone warrior did not slay the giant, fire-breathing dragon.
A private Long Island company that operated under the name Infosys International for almost 30 years is rebranding after agreeing to a trademark settlement with a multibillion-dollar Indian multinational with a similar name.
"I cannot fight a gorilla," Raj Mehta, founder of Infosys International, said of the court case.
The Plainview technology services company on Thursday erected a sign at its 14,000-square-foot building with the new name: Raj Technologies Inc.
"The cost is not small," Mehta said of the rebranding. "Everything costs money." In addition to the legal fees, he said a redesigned website and notifications to customers imposed a burden on the small business.
"After all these years, you have to re-establish yourself with a new name," Mehta said. "That's the scary part."
Raj Technologies provides IT services to utilities, businesses, and local, state and federal governments.
Raj Mehta, owner of Raj Technologies on Thursday. Credit: Danielle Silverman
The company settled a trademark infringement case filed in April 2017 by Infosys Ltd. of Bangalore, India, in U.S. District Court in Central Islip.
Infosys Ltd., whose market capitalization of more than $45 billion makes it one of India's largest companies, had argued in the lawsuit that the similar names had caused "confusion" in the marketplace when it pursued business with the United Nations, New York State and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
The Indian company, whose 168,000 employees provide IT services in 45 countries, posted revenue of $11.8 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31.
Mehta said the financial resources of Infosys made the court case a mismatch and led him to agree to the name change.
"I said, 'Let's draw a line; we'll do the settlement,' " he said.
Terms of the settlement were not disclosed and Infosys Ltd. did not respond to requests for comment.
Mehta, who does not release the revenue or head count of his private company, said he got an extension until the end of June to change the business' name after the settlement last fall.
Mehta began running his company out of his Commack bedroom in 1986 under the name Raj Associates, and took the Infosys International Inc. name in 1990.
"I circled around with the name," he said of the rebranding.
In addition to new signage on the building, Raj International rolled out a new website under the URL rajtechny.com.
Graham Byers, vice president, strategic planning at EGC Group, an advertising and marketing firm in Melville, said that Mehta's challenge is to transfer the brand equity of the Infosys name into the new brand.
Incorporating "Raj," the name of the company's "visible, well-known leader," makes sense because it harnesses what customers already knew about the business, he said.
Mehta said queries of search engines and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office database yielded no other IT companies operating in the United States under the name Raj Technologies.
"There is only one company in the Philippines with a similar name," he said.
Ken Schachter covers corporate news, including technology and aerospace, and other business topics for Newsday. He has also worked at The Miami Herald and The Jerusalem Post.
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