Samsung ordered to pay Swatch millions in trademark suit

Swatch wins its case against Samsung in London Keystone-SDA

Swiss watchmaking group Swatch has won its long-running legal battle in London against Samsung over counterfeit digital watch dials.

The South Korean tech giant will have to pay the Biel-based watchmaker $11.6 million.

Swatch had claimed $170 million in damages for trademark infringement, whilst Samsung Electronics was only prepared to pay $301.

The British High Court has now ruled that the South Korean group must pay ten brands belonging to the Swiss watchmaker a total of $11.6 million (CHF9.4 million).

“Samsung has repeatedly attempted to downplay the scale and seriousness of the infringements by seeking to reduce to zero the amount of damages owed to the Swatch Group’s iconic brands,” Swatch told the AWP news agency.

Between October 2015 and February 2019, Samsung’s Galaxy App Store offered several downloadable watch face apps imitating Swatch Group brands, namely Breguet, Blancpain, Jaquet Droz, Glashütte Original, Omega, Longines, Tissot, Hamilton, Mido and Swatch.

These apps were downloaded around 160,000 times in Britain and the European Union. Some were free, others were paid for. The revenue generated amounted to around $1,000, according to the judgement.

In 2022, the English High Court had already found Samsung guilty of infringing Swatch’s trade marks. In late 2023, the UK Court of Appeal also ruled in favour of the Biel-based watchmaker. In its view, the fact that the apps had been developed by third parties did not alter the verdict.

In the United States, the same ten Swatch Group brands brought separate proceedings against Samsung before the courts in New York. These proceedings are still ongoing.