28th August 2015
Imagine this. Apple product launch. Steve Jobs captivating the audience with amazing technology. Everyone hanging onto every spoken word. The atmosphere is electric, and excitement builds right up to the breaking point. Then comes the three magic words.
“One more thing.”
The audience roars and ruptures in cheers. For any Apple lover, those three words are more magical than “I love you”, but maybe a little less than “Let’s get smashed”. There is even a compilation of every time Steve Jobs uttered those words.
So it might come as a big surprise to you that the company that trademarked the phrase is…. Swatch.
Swatch filed for a trademark of the phrase in Switzerland, and essentially has exclusive use of the phrase until 2024. They’re also seeking to trademark the phrase “Tick Different”, possibly a swipe at Apple’s “Think Different” campaign back in the 90s (c’mon, let’s not go around starting rumours). While it might all just be a cheeky ploy in the spirit of competition, Swatch will hold very strong intellectual property rights over those phrases.
Swatch is insisting that this trademark has nothing to do with Apple. However, their competitive track record, and Swatch’s CEO calling the Apple Watch “an interesting toy, but not a revolution”, makes for a very interesting dinner topic.
Find out more about trademarks to plan your own cheeky payback here, here, here and here. And here. Just kidding.
If you want to have a chat about trademarks, give us a call on 1800 LAWPATH or see LawPath Trademark
Let us know what you think about Swatch’s cheekiness or let us in on your own by tagging us #lawpath or @lawpath.
