Because of a trademark issue, the Apple Watch may be blocked from being sold in Switzerland until at least after December 5 of this year. Swiss watchmaker Leonard Timepieces currently has a trademark that prevents third parties from using “apple” or showing the image of an apple in class 14, which includes jewelry, precious stones, timepieces, and watches.

Owned by William Longe, Leonard Timepieces filed for its trademark protection with the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property 30 years ago. The trademark was granted on December 5, 1985 and is currently set to expire on December 5, 2015.

Although Leonard Timepieces may try to renew the trademark, there are two potential pitfalls. First, there are questions about whether the mark has ever been used in commerce. If Leonard Timepieces has not used the registered mark in commerce for at least five years, then the mark might be cancelled because of non-use. Second, Leonard Timepieces has not taken any steps to prevent sales of the Apple Watch.

It is not clear at this time what Apple will do – purchase the trademark from Leonard Timepieces, delay the launch of the Apple Watch in Switzerland, or take a calculated risk and sell the watch. The Swiss can, of course, travel to nearby countries to purchase an Apple Watch. For now, however, it appears that the Apple Watch will not be sold in the country where the watch industry is worth over $20 billion annually.

Sources: http://www.engadget.com/2015/04/04/apple-watch-switzerland-issue/ http://www.geek.com/apple/apple-watch-launch-blocked-in-switzerland-by-an-apple-trademark-1619603/ http://www.worldipreview.com/news/apple-watch-hits-a-trademark-roadblock-in-switzerland-8140 http://appleinsider.com/articles/15/04/09/apple-watchs-potential-swiss-trademark-woes-overblown

For more information on this topic, please visit our Trademark Protection service page, which is part of our Trademark practice.

Klemchuk LLP is an Intellectual Property (IP), Technology, Internet, and Business law firm.  The firm offers comprehensive legal services including litigation and enforcement of all forms of IP as well as registration and licensing of patents, trademarks, trade dress, and copyrights.  The firm also provides a wide range of technology, Internet, e-commerce, and business services including business planning, formation, and financing, mergers and acquisitions, business litigation, data privacy, and domain name dispute resolution. 

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