(Reuters) — Target Corp has been sued by Swatch Group SA, which
accused the second-largest U.S. discount retailer of illegally
selling watches that copy its own.
In a lawsuit made public on Monday in U.S. District Court in
Manhattan, Swatch, which is known for its plastic namesake watches,
accused Target of infringing its designs for "zebra" and
"multi-color" watches.
Swatch said the quality of Target's watches is "inferior" to its
own, and that their continued sale is likely to confuse shoppers and
damage the Swiss company's sales.
It also said it advised Target of the alleged infringement, but that
the Minneapolis-based company continued its sales.
"By adopting the Zebra Watch trade dress and the Multi-Color Watch
trade dress, defendants are unfairly competing" with Swatch, the
complaint said.
Swatch seeks to stop Target from selling the alleged copies, recoup
profit from prior sales and be awarded money damages.
Target spokesman Evan Lapiska declined to discuss the lawsuit, but
said the retailer's policy is "to respect the intellectual property
rights of others and we expect the same from our vendors and
partners."
Swatch's lawsuit is dated March 7.
Retailers of luxury or well-known products often sue to stop sales
of alleged imitations they believe cost them revenue and customer
goodwill.
Tiffany & Co sued Costco Wholesale Corp in February 2013 to halt the
largest U.S. warehouse club chain's sales of what it called
counterfeit diamond engagement rings that bore the Tiffany name.
Swatch is based in Bienne, Switzerland. It also owns higher-end
brands such as Breguet, Longines, Omega and Harry Winston.
The case is Swatch AG v. Target Corp et al, U.S. District Court,
Southern District of New York, No. 14-01580.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New
York; editing by Andre Grenon and Cynthia Osterman)
