Swatch Group, the world’s biggest watchmaker, says it’s taking action against Apple Inc over the most valuable technology company’s use of the iWatch brand, which it says is too similar to its own iSwatch label.
Swatch’s measures may include pointing out Apple’s branding to authorities in all the countries where it has been registered as a trademark, Swatch chief executive officer Nick Hayek said in a telephone interview. “This is the normal procedure to protect your own brand name,” Hayek said. “We react like this for all other brand names that we have protected.” Cupertino, California-based
Apple hasn’t yet disclosed any specifics for an Internet-connected wristwatch. Swatch Group, with headquarters in Biel, Switzerland, sells a digital-display model called iSwatch. Apple may be looking to make inroads on that brand name because the two are too similar, Hayek said.
The company is seeking to block Apple trademarks for the name “iWatch” because of its own line of watches called “ISwatch.”
A representative for Swatch told Watson: We assess the likelihood of confusion as given, the marks are confusingly similar. In all countries where the mark is registered, we go against it before. While Swatch says it will fight the trademarks, the watch maker will not give specifics as to how it plans to do so.
According to U.S. government filings, Swatch has moved in the past to block companies from registering the iWatch trademark.
Related post(s):
http://patentssupportonline.blogspot.in/2014/05/apple-expands-trademark-for-watches.html
Swatch’s measures may include pointing out Apple’s branding to authorities in all the countries where it has been registered as a trademark, Swatch chief executive officer Nick Hayek said in a telephone interview. “This is the normal procedure to protect your own brand name,” Hayek said. “We react like this for all other brand names that we have protected.” Cupertino, California-based
Apple hasn’t yet disclosed any specifics for an Internet-connected wristwatch. Swatch Group, with headquarters in Biel, Switzerland, sells a digital-display model called iSwatch. Apple may be looking to make inroads on that brand name because the two are too similar, Hayek said.
The company is seeking to block Apple trademarks for the name “iWatch” because of its own line of watches called “ISwatch.”
A representative for Swatch told Watson: We assess the likelihood of confusion as given, the marks are confusingly similar. In all countries where the mark is registered, we go against it before. While Swatch says it will fight the trademarks, the watch maker will not give specifics as to how it plans to do so.
According to U.S. government filings, Swatch has moved in the past to block companies from registering the iWatch trademark.
Related post(s):
http://patentssupportonline.blogspot.in/2014/05/apple-expands-trademark-for-watches.html
