A Swiss court has ruled in favor of Swatch in a trademark hullabaloo with Apple over the Swiss watchmaker’s use of the “Tick Different” slogan. Apple had argued that the slogan unfairly references its 1990’s “Think Different” slogan.
Reuters reports that on Tuesday, the Federal Administrative Court released a ruling agreeing with Swatch that “Think Different” was not known well enough in Switzerland to warrant protection. The ruling also stated Apple had not produced documentation sufficiently backing up its claims.
Swatch used the “Tick Different” slogan to promote its Bellamy quartz wristwatch with built-in NFC Visa payment technology. Apple needed to show the court that Swatch’s use of the slogan triggered an association Apple products in the minds of at least 50% of consumers.
Apple filed the complaint in 2017 over the slogan, but Swatch claimed the slogan’s origins stem from a 1980s Swatch campaign that used the phrase “Always different, always new”, and argued that any similarity with Apple’s slogan was purely coincidental.
Apple’s “Think Different” ad campaign was created by Apple advertising agency TBWA\Chiat\Day, and was believed to be a response to IBM’s “Think” ad campaign. Apple used the slogan in commercials and print ads until the launch of the Cupertino firm’s iMac G4 in 2002.