Samsung Accused Of Brand Infringement Over Galaxy Smartwatches

Two months ago, Samsung Electronics introduced the Galaxy Watch, a rebranding of its Gear smartwatch series. This week, the tech giant is being accused of brand infringement over the new name of its technologically advanced timepiece.

Yonhap reported Tuesday that a South Korean watch maker called Orient has filed an injunction to ban the sale of Samsung’s Galaxy smartwatches after accusing the latter of brand infringement.

Orient is mainly concerned with the fact that Samsung has come up with a brand that is similar to the one it registered for its products 34 years ago. The watch maker has been producing watches under the Galaxy name since 1984.

In its filing, Orient stated that the use of the “Galaxy” name on Samsung’s smartwatches is clearly a violation of fair trade and patent laws. The company, which is also looking into launching its own smartwatches, indicated that this move by Samsung is going to hinder it from developing its own lineup of wearables.

It is important to note that Samsung’s trademark for its Galaxy-branded smartwatches falls under the electronic devices classification. On the other hand, Orient’s Galaxy products are considered jewelry by the local patent system.

Samsung is already aware of the accusation Orient made. The tech giant said it will announce its stance on the issue once it is done reviewing the case thoroughly.

The news about the alleged brand infringement comes days after Samsung quietly upgraded the sleep tracking feature of its Galaxy Watch devices. With the latest update, which was released last week, the sleeping tracker of Galaxy Watch smartwatches no longer requires continuous heart rate monitoring to detect REM sleep.

The Galaxy Watch now automatically enables a “frequent” mode that measures REM sleep every ten minutes. This is an optional feature, so users can switch it off with a toggle in the settings. And even though the mode is not that accurate in tracking REM sleep, it reduces battery usage overnight so users can make use of their Galaxy Watch longer during the day, as per SamMobile.