According to Swatch Group AG Chief Executive Officer Nick Hayek, the watchmaker has taken action over the use of the iWatch label by Apple Inc for the latter's most anticipated wearable. The biggest watchmaker in the world claimed that the iPhone maker's use of the label has similarities to its iSwatch product label. In a telephone interview with Bloomberg on May 3, Hayek said that the measures of Swatch included pointing out the use of "iWatch" to authorities in all of the countries the watchmaker has registered as a trademark. Hayek fell short on telling the news agency which countries did the company had reached out to and when did it launched its measures. He clarified, however, that there are no legal plans for Swatch to take against Apple.
"This is the normal procedure to protect your own brand name. We react like this for all other brand names that we have protected. If somebody wants to register a name that is too close to a name that we have protected, we fight against it," Hayek said.
Bloomberg said the iSwatch name has been registered in several dozen countries. Aside from the Swatch brand, the group also owns other watch brands which include Omega, Breguet, Tissot and Longines. According to a search on the World Intellectual Property Organization website, over 50 companies have filed for trademark protection for the "iWatch" name. It is interesting to note that the Swiss company had the occassional contact with Apple about new technologies, and that Apple is worth $510 billion in market value, over 15 times bigger than the watchmaker.
Although Apple has yet to introduce a wearable in the market nor announced plans of doing so under the name iWatch, technology pundits could not help but speculate considering the fact that the niche market could be lucrative for the first one who captures it. Based on a June 3 filing with the Japan Patent Office, Apple had filed last year for trademark protection for an "iWatch" in Japan.
