Apple is suing Swiss watchmaker Swatch over its slogan for its new NFC-enabled watch. The promotion for the watch, which uses NFC to allow wearers to make payments with the watch, features the slogan "Tick different," which Apple sees as an intentional reference to its famous "Think Different" slogan.
According to Swiss site Watson, Apple faces an uphill battle in this case (translated from German):
To ensure that the provocation was also noticed in California, Swatch had slipped the slogan in the register of trade marks. Apple has bet on the renowned Zurich law firm Lenz & Staehelin to tackle all possible trademark infringement in Switzerland. In this case, it also appealed and filed a complaint in the name of Apple at the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property. But it was refused.
Swatch has previously managed to trademark the phrase "One more thing," which Apple also unsuccessfully sought to block. That phrase was often used by late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs to introduce big new products and surprises at Apple events and keynotes, though Swatch claimed that it adopted the phrase from TV detective Columbo.
