Swatch, the Swiss-based watchmaker, is not happy about the fact that Apple’s wearable device may be called the iWatch. The company feels that the name iWatch sounds a lot like iSwatch, a trademark registered by the Swiss watchmaker for one of its product lines.
Apple has yet to announce a wearable device, which may or may not be called “iWatch”, and the Swiss watchmaker is already going on the offensive. Serena Chiesura, Director of Communication for the Swatch Group, said:
“We believe there is a high risk of confusion between the two products.”
The Swatch group will likely seek legal action in every country where their trademark is registered. In his recent talk about smart watches, translated by the folks at iDownloadBlog, Swatch CEO Nick Hayek said:
A smartwatch needs software and this software must constantly be updated. Every year, you’re forced to buy a new smartphone because the new software requires new hardware. It will be the same problem with smartwatches. Besides, consumers don’t want to charge their watches, and no charging cable will be available for a while.
Apple has already filed trademark registrations for iWatch in several countries, including Japan, Russia, Mexico, Taiwan, and Turkey. The company is expected to announce the fitness and health-focused iWatch in the second half of the year, alongside the next-generation iPhone.
Would you be confused between iSwatch and iWatch? Does the Swatch Group have a good reason to feel threatened? Let us know in the comments below.
[via Watson]
Want to see more of our stories on Google?
P.S. Want to keep this site truly independent? Support us by buying us a beer, treating us to a coffee, or shopping through Amazon here. Links in this post are affiliate links, so we earn a tiny commission at no charge to you. Thanks for supporting independent Canadian media!
Yes, there will be some confusion, but that’s only until someone looks at the price
Apple should start suing all companies that have products/brands that start with ‘i’. They started that and all companies began to use it in their names to resemble Apple
iFone sounds the same as iPhone and has an i in the front. Watch out, you might get served.
Touché! In that same line of thought, this blog is going down!!
This CEO is clueless. “Every year, you’re forced to buy a new smartphone because the new software requires new hardware…” Uhm, no, users just want new devices with new features, no one forces anyone to move forward. He himself wants to stick with old technology (unfortunate for him, many people are leaving current generation watches behind).
He thinks upgrades are a problem. As a CEO he really should know better. As a CEO, building that want into the consumer’s mindset is his job! Building something so cool, innovative, and exciting that the consumer is WILLING TO SPEND MONEY before they actually need to. He instead looks at all of this from an uninformed consumer perspective, lacking passion even. “…consumers don’t want to charge their watches, and no charging cable will be available for a while….” If my watch can do all kinds of cool new things, sure I’ll charge my watch! Fact of the matter is, right now his company and many other watch manufactures have done nothing to convince me that I need their tech on my wrist. Rumours alone about Apple making an iWatch get me excited, pondering what this could do.
Lastly, it was his company’s choice to make a product or at least register a trademark with a lowercase ‘i’ in-front. If the last 15 years of Apple innovation wasn’t enough of a heads up that that naming convention might not be the best choice, then this guy is absolutely clueless. Apple doesn’t own the lowercase i of course, but you have to know you may encounter this kind of issue in the future should you choose to use said naming conventions.
The whole thing seems somehow contrived to get attention.
Maybe that’s why he’s such ?
you’ve said it iFone
Swatch is looking to settle and a payout from Apple..