UK High Court awards damages over smartwatch applications featuring designs linked to Swatch Group’s luxury watch brands
Samsung Electronics has been ordered to pay USD 11.6 million in damages to Swatch Group following a UK High Court ruling over smartwatch applications that reproduced designs associated with the Swiss watchmaker’s brands, as per a Bloomberg report.
The judgment, issued on Wednesday, follows an earlier finding that Samsung had infringed Swatch Group’s trademark rights by allowing third-party watch-face applications to be distributed through its app store between 2015 and 2019.
The disputed applications featured designs associated with Swatch Group brands including Breguet, Longines and Omega. Swatch Group had sought around USD 170 million in damages, while Samsung had argued that compensation should be limited to approximately USD 300.
Court Assesses Impact On Luxury Brands
Judge Marcus Smith said the availability of Swatch Group-branded watch faces on Samsung’s platform for little or no cost risked weakening the value of the luxury watchmaker’s trademarks.
He said the presence of the brands on Samsung’s platform, where users could download the watch faces for little or no money, could be particularly damaging to their perceived value. Smith also said the low cost of the applications could diminish the prestige that Swatch Group sought to maintain around its brands.
The judge noted that Swatch Group had spent decades developing and managing its brands, describing them as an important part of the company’s business.
Smith also observed that Samsung did not appear to attach significant value to the trademarks and had considered that they offered little additional value to its consumer proposition.
The court arrived at the USD 11.6 million damages figure after applying royalty rates to approximately 1,60,000 downloads of the infringing watch-face applications across Europe.
Samsung Reviews Appeal Options
Samsung said it was reviewing the High Court judgment and would consider all available legal options, including an appeal.
Swatch Group said Samsung had repeatedly sought to minimise both the extent of the trademark infringement and the compensation payable for the use of its brands.
A separate case involving the same 10 Swatch Group brands is also pending against Samsung in a US court, according to the Swiss watchmaker.
The ruling adds to legal scrutiny faced by technology companies over the use of established luxury brands in digital products, particularly where third-party applications reproduce protected designs.
(With inputs from Bloomberg report)
