The Trademark Battle Over the IWC “Fish” Crown
One of the details in the recent IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Edition Black Carbon that appealed to IWC collectors was the revival of the “fish” crown – an emblem used by the brand from the 1950s to the mid-2000s to indicate a water-resistant watch. In fact, the fish logo is significant enough that it is found not only on the crown of the new Big Pilot, but also in relief on the case back (pictured above). Fondly remembered by enthusiasts, the discreet “fish” was eventually replaced by the more brand-centric “Probus Scafusia” emblem, one of the official IWC logos. Behind the comeback of the “fish” is a little-known and rather amusing trademark battle that took place in Swiss courts and was reported on last year by FPC Review, a blog specialising in Swiss patent issues. The IWC fish logo was first registered by Richemont on July 22, 2016, but the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IGE, or sometimes by its French acronym IPI) rejected the registration due to the logo’s resemblance to the ichthys, a fish-like symbol with used in Christianity. The court reasoned that “the commercial use of the sign is likely to violate the religious sentiment of an average Christian”. Ichthys – derived from ιχθυς, which is Greek for “fish” – is an acrostic that spells out “Iesous Christos, Theou Yios, Soter”, or “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour”. Early Christians in the second and third century AD used the ichthys, essentially a two-...
Time+Tide
