Apple loses to Swatch over use of the Think Different brand

Lthe EU Court rejected Apple’s appeal against EUIPO’s decisions (European Union Intellectual Property Office) relative al caso Swatch. The dispute arose following a Swatch advertising campaign. The company, in fact, inspired by the popular claim “Think Differenthad created a campaign using the slogan “Tick Different“. Here are the details on this particular dispute that resulted in the loss of Think Different brand rights in the EU for Apple.

Swatch wins against Apple over an advertising campaign dispute

Apple has to deal with the rejection of the EU Court which dismissed the appeal filed regarding a recent EUIPO decision. This decision provided for the revocation of ownership of the Think Different trademark that Apple hadn’t used in the previous five years but was previously registered for an advertising campaign.

The dispute was born in 2016 when Swatch submitted to the EUIPO three applications for revocation of Apple’s trademarks precisely on the basis of the non-use of Think Different. The company then used the Tick Differenti slogan, clearly inspired by Apple’s. The recent decision of the EU Court therefore gives Swatch rightauthorized to legitimately use the Tick Different claim, even if only as a citation of Apple’s advertising campaign.

It should also be noted that it is not the first time that Swatch has put a spanner in the works of Apple. In the past, in fact, the watch company has won a dispute over the iWatch brand, deemed too similar to iSwatch. This victory led Apple to choose the Apple Watch brand for its smartwatch.