A London court found Samsung to be a copyright infringer of Swatch.

The Swiss watch giant Swatch is demanding $170 million from Samsung for the alleged illegal use of the design of branded dials in the Galaxy Watch smartwatch. According to the plaintiff, Samsung is copying the appearance of legendary models from ten brands that are part of the Swatch group.

Claim history

This lawsuit was filed back in 2019, when the United Kingdom legally remained part of the European Union, which allowed it to include claims about the coverage of intellectual property in the territory of the EU. Currently, the Supreme Court of London has already officially confirmed the fact of copyright infringement by Samsung.

Assessment of damages and demands of the parties

Swatch’s position is that digital use of the unique design elements of Omega and Tissot brand watches requires a legal license. The plaintiff calculates the amount of compensation based on the fact that Samsung would have to pay for the official use of the licensed design of 10 of its brands. At the current stage, the court must determine the final amount of monetary obligations.

Court perspectives

Samsung representatives have so far refrained from official comments. It is expected that the legal department of the Korean corporation will make efforts to minimize the losses. Notably, the London court’s decision could become a strong precedent that Swatch relies on to file similar lawsuits in the United States, posing serious risks to Samsung’s global portfolio of digital products.