Swatch seeks $170m trademark damages from Samsung
Swiss watch maker Swatch is seeking $170 million in damages in a trademark dispute against the South Korean technology giant Samsung, as reported by the Financial Times.
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Swatch seeks $170m trademark damages from Samsung
The legal dispute in London, which has been ongoing for years, concerns 26 digital watch faces for smartwatches which, according to Swatch, resemble the group’s brands.
According to Swatch, the watch face apps were downloaded around 160,000 times in Britain and the European Union and offered “cheap copies” of the company’s exclusive watch models.
Swatch is seeking US$170 million in damages for the alleged infringement of intellectual property rights between October 2015 and February 2019. Samsung’s lawyers have described the claim for damages as “exaggerated” and “out of touch with reality”. They stated that Swatch had suffered no loss and that Samsung had derived no significant benefit from the matter.
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The High Court in London had already ruled against Samsung in 2022 for trademark infringements. According to the ruling, certain watch face apps for Samsung smartwatches, available for download from the Galaxy App Store, infringed the rights of Swatch brands such as Omega, Tissot, Longines and Swatch.
At the end of 2023, the British Court of Appeal also ruled in favour of the Biel-based watchmaker. According to the Court of Appeal, the fact that the apps had been developed by third-party companies did not alter the guilty verdict.
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The High Court is now to determine the amount of damages to be awarded to Swatch. According to the FT, lawsuits have also been filed in the United States, which are awaiting the decision in London. Closing arguments are due to be heard on Friday. The judge is expected to deliver a judgement at a later date.
When asked by the AWP news agency, the Swatch Group declined to comment on the ongoing proceedings.
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Watch face apps violate Swatch trademark rights, court rules
Translated from German, sub-edited by mga
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