Montres Breguet SA & Ors v Samsung Electronics Co Ltd & Anor

Facts

The claimants are ten Swiss and German companies in the Swatch group of watchmakers, whose brands range from Swatch in the basic range through Tissot, Mido and Hamilton, Longines and Omega to the prestige marques Breguet, Blancpain, Glashütte Original and Jaquet Droz. The first defendant, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, is the South Korean parent of the technology group; the second defendant took no part in the proceedings. Between October 2015 and February 2019 a number of watch face applications made available through the Samsung Galaxy App store, developed largely by third-party app developers, infringed the Swatch group's trade marks. The apps were downloaded around 160,000 times in the UK and EU, generating total revenue of US$1,002.77, and all identified apps were taken down by 9 January 2019 after Swatch first contacted Samsung in December 2018. Liability was determined by Falk J in the Liability Judgment of 20 May 2022, affirmed by the Court of Appeal in December 2023. The Swatch group elected for negotiation damages, and quantum was tried over four days in June 2026. Their expert, Mr Forbes, valued the damages at about US$170 million; Samsung's expert, Mr Bezant, valued the same infringements at US$301.