Apple vs Swatch: Swiss Court Backs Swatch in 'Think Different' Row

A Swiss court has backed Swatch Group in a trademark row with Apple over the watchmaker's use of the "Tick different" slogan, which Apple had decried as an infringement of its "Think Different" advertising campaign.

Swatch had contended Apple's Think Different was not known well enough in Switzerland to warrant protection.

In a ruling released on Tuesday, the Federal Administrative Court agreed, saying Apple had not produced documents that sufficiently backed up its case.

Apple's ads, used from 1997 until 2002 and backed by a "Here's to the crazy ones" commercial to support its computer line, was seen as a play on rival IBM's "Think" motto.

In February, the Swatch Group filed a complaint against Samsung Electronics and Samsung Electronics America, saying the two companies infringed upon its trademark on designs for downloadable smartwatch faces.

The Swiss watchmaker said the South Korean companies' watch faces "bear identical or virtually identical marks" to the trademarks it owns and uses on its brands which include Longines, Omega, Swatch, and Tissot.

"This unabashed copying of the Trademarks can have only one purpose – to trade off the fame, reputation, and goodwill of the Swatch Group Companies' products and marks built painstakingly over decades," Swatch Group said in a filing to the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

© Thomson Reuters 2019