Roger Fingas
Siding with Swiss watchmaker Swatch, the UK's Intellectual Property Office has rejected Apple's attempt to trademark the term "iWatch" in the country — long after the electronics giant decided to go with "Apple Watch" instead.
Swatch was concerned that the "iWatch" name was too similar to its own "iSwatch," BBC News reported. The company filed its opposition in March 2014, months before the Apple Watch was officially revealed.
The IPO case could be what prompted Apple to choose the Watch's final name, given the importance of the UK market and its general unwillingness to use different labels in different regions. "Apple Watch" may also have allowed it to distance itself from earlier branding or control expectations since the product can't do much independent of an iPhone.
On Friday Apple will launch the Apple Watch Series 2. The device is an evolution of the original Watch design, with upgrades like waterproofing, GPS, a brighter display, and a more powerful processor. A version of the first Watch is still around in the form of the Series 1, which simply has a processor upgrade.
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Wesley Hilliard
AppleInsider Staff
Andrew Orr
Amber Neely
William Gallagher
15 Comments
Irrelevant ruling. The Swiss know where they can put it. What the heck have they done in the "i" arena anyway?!
I like the moniker 'AppleWatch' -- or even just 'Watch' -- better.
Let them have it. iWatch sounds decade old.
Ah, those wily Swiss!
Ah, those wily Swiss! When I first read about Swatch, way back when, I thought they were a Casio knockoff, and had no idea they were a Swiss watch company - way too gimmicky/cutesy to be in the vaunted midst of IWC and Rolex, etc.. Anyway, good for Swatch, I hope this non-issue suit cost them big "time" (sorry - couldn't help myself).
Ok - well maybe Swatch will get a few unwitting souls to stumble onto thier page.