Samsung ordered to pay $11.6 million in damages to Swatch Group
The High Court in London has ordered tech giant Samsung to pay damages of $11.6 million to Swatch Group, relating to trademark infringement.
The disagreement between the two companies centres on 26 digital ‘watch face’ apps that were available on the Samsung Galaxy App Store between 2015 and 2019. Swatch alleges that these apps essentially allowed users to turn their smartwatches into digital replicas of its own brands’ Swiss-made dials.
The question of liability had previously been settled in London’s High Court back in 2022, when Samsung was found liable for trademark infringement — a decision which it appealed but lost. The UK courts ruled that Samsung was liable as a primary infringer, despite the actual software coming from third-party developers.
Swatch Group had been hoping for a figure closer to $170 million, which Samsung’s lawyers argued was an “extravagant” claim.
The judge, Mr Justice Smith, said: “The use of the Swatch Group brands on Samsung’s supermarket shelves (to use the physical analogy), downloadable for nothing or for little money, is to my mind very damaging to the Swatch Group’s property interests.
““The low price is demeaning of the brands the Swatch Group seek to promulgate,” he continued.
Samsung’s defence is that the software came from third-party developers, and it removed any offending items as quickly as possible.
In a statement, the tech firm said: “We are carefully considering the High Court’s judgment and will consider all possible countermeasures, including an appeal.”
The UK ruling is expected to clear the path for a parallel claim by Swatch Group against Samsung in the United States.
