June 26 (Reuters) - Swiss watchmaker Swatch is seeking $170 million in damages from Samsung in what it says is the largest-ever trademark case of its kind in the UK, accusing the South Korean electronics group of allowing digital replicas of Swatch timepieces on its smartwatches, court documents show.
A ruling on damages is expected soon following the conclusion of a trial on Friday, after London's High Court found Samsung liable for trademark infringement in 2022 over third-party apps available on its smartwatches.
The apps enabled users to replicate popular models by Swatch-owned brands, including luxury labels Omega and Tissot.
The case, which began in 2019 before Britain completed its exit from the European Union, also covers alleged infringement within the bloc. The forthcoming ruling could also pave the way for a parallel claim by Swatch against a Samsung subsidiary in the United States.
A June 19 filing by solicitors representing Swatch, seen by Reuters, says the $170 million in damages is based on hypothetical licence fees across 10 Swatch brands and reflects the "prestige, reputation and drawing power" of the group’s portfolio.
Samsung did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a separate filing cited by the Financial Times, which first reported on the trial, Samsung called Swatch's demands "extravagant" and outsized.
PROTECTING SCARCITY
The Swiss watch industry faces a growing threat from the fast-developing market for smartwatches, with companies like Samsung, Apple and Huawei among major producers.
In the filing seen by Reuters, Tissot CEO Sylvain Dolla is quoted as saying that the brand had deliberately chosen not to enter the smartwatch market, despite approaches from major technology companies.
Licensing its designs "would destroy the value which has been built up in the Swatch Group brands if we were to license them for use in smartwatches, which are commodity products," Dolla said in a separate 2025 filing.
Swiss watchmakers tightly control supply to sustain scarcity, supporting higher prices and preserving brand image.
Swatch, whose brands span from affordable plastic watches to luxury timepieces worth tens of thousands of dollars, sells connected products such as SwatchPAY! but has not launched a full smartwatch.
"It would kill the value of the fine Swiss watch: it would no longer be exclusive", Dolla said in the June filing.
(Reporting by Alessandro Parodi in Gdansk and Marleen Kaesebier in Zurich; Editing by Susan Fenton and Louise Heavens)
