瑞士手表制造商斯沃琪胜诉 苹果无法在英注册iWatch商标

Swiss watchmaker Swatch has successfully opposed Apple's registration of the trademark "iWatch" in the UK.

日前，瑞士手表制造商斯沃琪就苹果公司商标iWatch在英国侵权一案胜诉成功。

The UK's Intellectual Property Office (IPO) upheld Swatch's opposition, which was filed in March 2014.

该案件由斯沃琪公司在2014年3月提交，英国知识产权办公室赞成斯沃琪公司的反对意见。

Swatch said the name "iWatch" was too similar to its own trademarks for the words "iSwatch" and "Swatch".

斯沃琪公司表示，“iWatch”与其公司的产品“iSwatch”以及“Swatch”有着太过相似的商标。

And by the time in launched its smartwatch, in 2015, Apple had decided to call its product "Apple Watch".

并且，当苹果公司在2015年进军智能手表界的时候，已经决定将其手表命名为“Apple Watch”。

But should the California-based company wish to use the name "iWatch" in the UK at some point in future, it can now do so only with certain products.

但总部位于加利福尼亚州的苹果公司希望能在英国未来的某个时间点使用“iWatch”这个名称，但现在他们却只能在某些特定的产品上使用这个名称。

These include computer software and computer accessories - but not computer hardware, monitors, audio and video devices or cameras.

这些特定的产品包括电脑的软件和一些配件，但却并不包括如显示器、音视频设备或相机等在内的电脑硬件。

This decision shows the difficulty global brands can have when it comes to launching a new product around the world, said Sharon Daboul, a trademark lawyer at law firm EIP.

EIP法律事务所的商标律师莎伦·达博尔表示，这一决定显示了国际品牌在世界范围内发布新产品可能碰到的一些困难。