Apple can’t help watchmaker Swatch wanting to trademark the phrase “one more thing”. That has a judge in Great Britain determined. The phrase “one more thing” was used by Steve Jobs, and later also by Tim Cook, to announce one more product at an event.
Judge Ian Purvis says that it may be an irritating move by Swatch, but that Apple is not in the position at the bottom of the line to do anything about it. The watchmaker may make an attempt to have that sentence recorded. But whether that will work is of course a second question.
Television series Columbo
The phrase was always uttered by the late Steve Jobs at the end of a press conference. Often to present a product or service, after a lot of announcements had already been made. Purvis says that this sentence was initially heard in the television series Columbo, so it is not very original.
Apple and Swatch have been at odds for longer. The haggling started with the launch of the first Apple Watch in 2015. At the time, the Cupertino company tried to capture the word iWatch. But that request was denied because it is too similar to the word iSwatch, from Swatch.
Apple versus Swatch
Since then, both companies have engaged in an almost useless battle with other phrases and trademarks. For example, in 2019 Apple could not prevent Swatch from capturing the words ‘Tick Different’. That is more than a big nod to the marketing phrase Think Different, which Apple used for the Mac.
The argument that Apple’s lawyers used to counter the trademark “one more thing” was that Swatch wants to parody Apple in this way. Judge Purvis then decided that this has not been sufficiently demonstrated, so that Swatch may give it a try.
–
