A Swatch store in Geneva, Switzerland. [Getty Images]
A Swatch store in Geneva, Switzerland. [Getty Images]

A UK court that previously found Samsung Electronics infringed on the trademark rights of Swiss watchmaker Swatch Group has set damages at $11.6 million — less than a tenth of what Swatch had sought.

Bloomberg and other outlets reported Wednesday that London's High Court issued the ruling in a case where Swatch Group, which owns the Breguet, Longines, Omega and Tissot brands, had sought $170 million from Samsung Electronics.

The court had earlier ruled that Samsung Electronics infringed on Swatch's trademarks by allowing third-party developers to sell watch-face apps on its app store between 2015 and 2019 that mimicked the appearance of Swatch brand timepieces. During the proceedings, Samsung Electronics argued that Swatch Group had suffered no actual financial harm and that Samsung Electronics had received just $300 in revenue from sales of those watch-face apps.

Judge Marcus Smith rejected that argument, finding that the use of Swatch Group brands as free or low-cost downloads on "Samsung's supermarket shelf" — its app store — had caused significant harm to Swatch Group's property rights. "The low price damages the brand that Swatch Group seeks to promote widely," he said.

Smith cited as one basis for the ruling the fact that Swatch Group had carefully managed and promoted its brands over decades, calling this a significant part of its business.

Samsung Electronics said in a statement that it was "carefully reviewing the High Court's decision and will consider all available options, including an appeal."

Swatch, in its own statement, said Samsung Electronics had "repeatedly attempted to minimize the scale and significance of the infringement by downplaying the compensation owed for the well-known brands of Swatch Group."


kate01@heraldcorp.com