Sometimes trademarks are about defending brand names you’ve spent years and millions of dollars building up. Other times they’re meant as jealous, petty ways of striking back at people who are doing better than you.
Guess which category Swatch’s decision to trademark Steve Jobs’ iconic “One more thing” signature phrase falls under.
The trademark was registered in Germany in May, but has just been granted. Although it was originally a quotation by Jobs of Peter Falk’s Columbo character, it is synonymous with Apple’s late CEO, and has been used by Tim Cook, too. “One more thing” is often employed at the end of Apple keynotes to introduce a new surprise product or make an exciting announcement.
Swatch’s co-creator Elmar Mock has previously spoken out about how the Apple Watch will “put a lot of pressure on the traditional watch industry and jobs in Switzerland.” Swatch, meanwhile, has scrambled to bring its own smartwatch to market, although all the evidence we’ve seen suggests Apple Watch is still having a big impact on the traditional watch industry.
This isn’t the first time Apple has had people try to pilfer its well-known “One more thing” phrase. At the launch of Apple ripoff artist Xiaomi’ Mi 4 smartphone, CEO Lei Jun “borrowed” Apple’s tagline while also wearing a black top and blue jeans.
There’s no word yet on how Swatch plans to use its new trademark, but Apple can at least take comfort in the fact that it’s clearly making its presence felt with the Apple Watch.
To quote Gandhi, “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”
Source: Patently Apple