Advertisement
Tech NewsTechnology

Yet another defeat for Apple, the company loses the rights to the “Think Different” brand

Advertisement

No, the Think Different slogan is no longer an Apple exclusive trademark. Other companies can also use it: it was decided by an EUIPO ruling – the European Union Intellectual Property Office. Decision against which Apple had filed several appeals, which however were rejected by the EU Court.

It all started with a marketing campaign by Swatch , which, making fun of Apple’s claim, had reformulated the phrase in this way: “ Tick Different “, like the ticking of watches.

Apple was on a rampage at the time, but Swatch’s lawyers got the better of it. In 2016, Swatch submitted three applications for revocation of the contested trademarks to the EUIPO, obtaining full satisfaction. In fact, Apple had not used the Think Different brand for the products concerned for a period of five years, as required by the rules, under penalty of forfeiture of rights.

The famous Think Different campaign dates back to 1997 and from that moment the motto had become one of the hallmarks of Apple, like the bitten apple. But, actually, it is a claim that Apple has been using with discontinuity lately. Swatch took advantage of this and evidently had every right to do so.

Apple had tried to defend the exclusive use of the claim by claiming that over 50% of consumers associated the phrase with its products. But it wasn’t enough.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button