Swatch seeks $170m from Samsung over smartwatch “clone” faces

• UK court weighs damages, following a 2022 High Court finding that Samsung was liable for trademark infringement over the availability of the third-party watch-face apps on its platform.

Swiss watchmaker Swatch Group is seeking $170 million in damages from Samsung, alleging the tech giant enabled third-party apps that offered digital replicas of watch faces from Swatch-owned brands such as Omega and Tissot on Samsung smartwatches, according to court filings cited by the Financial Times.

A British judge is expected to rule on damages soon, following a 2022 High Court finding that Samsung was liable for trademark infringement over the availability of the third-party watch-face apps on its platform.

The case, initiated in 2019 before the UK’s exit from the EU, also relates to infringement within the bloc and could pave the way for a parallel claim against a Samsung subsidiary in the United States, the report said.

In written submissions to the High Court, Swatch accused Samsung of “large-scale appropriation” of “valuable and carefully protected” trademarks, while Samsung called Swatch’s demands “extravagant” and disproportionate, according to the filings.

The dispute comes as Switzerland’s traditional watchmakers face intensifying competition from the fast-growing smartwatch market dominated by players including Samsung, Apple and Huawei. Swatch sells connected devices such as SwatchPAY! but has not launched a full-featured smartwatch line, even as digital watch faces mimicking luxury models have proliferated on app stores serving wearable devices.