Jaguar to sue Christopher Ward

Discuss Christopher Ward watches
what-time-is-it
Trusted Seller
Trusted Seller
Posts: 3854
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2016 11:53 am
CW-watches: 1

Re: Jaguar to sue Christopher Ward

Post by what-time-is-it »

The CW catalogue from Oct 2014 with the detail of this watch can be found at...

https://issuu.com/christopher-ward/docs/magalogue_2014
Current collection incl Citizen, G-Shock, Rolex, Seiko, Sinn & Tag.

Chris
alansmithee
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 25
Joined: Tue May 12, 2015 8:59 pm

Re: Jaguar to sue Christopher Ward

Post by alansmithee »

Kip wrote: Mon Sep 17, 2018 9:55 am Official statement from CW..


“We strongly reject the claims made against us and will be vigorously defending our position. There has been no infringement and we do not believe this matter should ever have reached Court”.
At this point there is nothing else to say although the last part of that does suggest there has been on-coming conversation about this matter.
User avatar
Caller
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 2124
Joined: Sun Jan 19, 2014 11:44 pm
CW-watches: 2
Location: Hua Hin, Thailand

Re: Jaguar to sue Christopher Ward

Post by Caller »

alansmithee wrote: Mon Sep 17, 2018 1:04 pm At this point there is nothing else to say although the last part of that does suggest there has been on-coming conversation about this matter.
Indeed. And that one side has lost patience with the other.
'Tis me
Remus
Guru
Guru
Posts: 331
Joined: Wed Feb 06, 2013 10:03 pm
CW-watches: 2

Re: Jaguar to sue Christopher Ward

Post by Remus »

Could it, in fact, be Bremont behind the action? Exercising any wiggle room and influence they may have in an exclusivity contract with Jaguar to mute any competition into 'their space'. Pure speculation on my part.
Remus
User avatar
Caller
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 2124
Joined: Sun Jan 19, 2014 11:44 pm
CW-watches: 2
Location: Hua Hin, Thailand

Re: Jaguar to sue Christopher Ward

Post by Caller »

Remus wrote: Mon Sep 17, 2018 5:05 pm Could it, in fact, be Bremont behind the action? Exercising any wiggle room and influence they may have in an exclusivity contract with Jaguar to mute any competition into 'their space'. Pure speculation on my part.
I very much doubt it. Jaguar will have commercial contracts globally with all sorts of companies. It's about control and protecting those commercial interests. Jaguar will monitor Bremonts designs and quality to ensure it meets with their approved and agreed standards. I'm no expert, but it seems to me there are a few angles to this. One being the potential loss of trademark and quality control - if a company produces something that associates itself with Jaguar, but is not formally approved by them, then it could be detrimental to their business through association and if said company can continue to do so without any commercial tie-in, then why would anyone else bother? Thus leaving Bremont, in theory, as we all know they wouldn't, to produce any old tat in Jaguars name!

But who knows, the law might say differently in this case?
'Tis me
User avatar
msdsx
Junior
Junior
Posts: 41
Joined: Thu May 24, 2018 1:52 pm
CW-watches: 2
Location: Portsmouth UK

Re: Jaguar to sue Christopher Ward

Post by msdsx »

Perhaps the focus should be on the possible outcome should the case go the whole distance in court and Jaguar win. It is my understanding that there are four possible remedies for a successful trademark infringement claim:

1. Injunction - rather pointless as this happened some time ago.
2. Order for erasure, removal or obliteration of offending signs from infringing gods, materials or articles - probably pointless.
3. Orders for delivery up and destruction of infringing goods, materials or articles - may affect any that weren't sold but that can't be many, if any.
4. Damages or an account of profits. This is not straightforward but it seems unlikely that there can be enough profit on 50 watches worth chasing. That leaves damages based on lost profit to Jaguar or the lost cost of a licence had it been granted. In either case it's very unlikely to be an existential threat to CW and costs are likely to outdo any monetary benefit. I doubt any judge would get remotely close to destroying a firm over something like this - the process often referred to as "the exercise of a sound imagination and the practice of a broad axe".

There's no such thing as bad publicity...
Mark
"There is more to life than simply increasing its speed"
Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra, Rolex Milgauss, CW Trident Pro 600, C30 Malvern Chronometer, TAG Muhammad Ali Limited Edition, Bremont S300, Mercer Airfoil, Citizen, Casio, etc...
cincfleet
Senior Guru
Senior Guru
Posts: 794
Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2014 9:22 am
CW-watches: 8
Location: Lincolnshire, UK.

Re: Jaguar to sue Christopher Ward

Post by cincfleet »

Interesting article, they ain't getting my C70 D-Type back, I love the watch. It doesn't get regular wrist time, special occasions only, but it looks great :lol: :thumbup:
User avatar
nbg
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 13150
Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2013 6:43 pm
CW-watches: 14
Location: UK

Re: Jaguar to sue Christopher Ward

Post by nbg »

No additional information, but coverage in WatchPro.
http://www.watchpro.com/jaguar-alleges- ... ype-watch/

As I am not a Lawyer or Barrister specialising in Trade Marks and Intellectual property, I won’t give my view. Well I am not a Lawyer or Barrister at all! :lol:

However it would be good if anyone who has the appropriate professional expertise confirmed this in their posts.

Neil
Other watch forums of interest:
TZ-UK
George Smiley
Senior
Senior
Posts: 84
Joined: Sat Dec 31, 2016 12:15 pm
CW-watches: 3

Re: Jaguar to sue Christopher Ward

Post by George Smiley »

At this time, it's clearly impossible to know how this will pan out. However, having read the comments on this thread, it does seem to me that CW may be on a 'sticky wicket' with this. However, Jaguar is well known for highlighting its British roots in its marketing campaigns, and rightly so. In law, the tests of reasonableness and proportionality are very important to bear in mind. I am wondering if Jaguar would do well to pause and consider the bad publicity that may arise from seriously weakening or destroying a small but relatively successful British watch company. Don't get me wrong, if CW has acted improperly, a price may have to be paid, perhaps an apology and an out of court settlement. In the long run, however, who knows?.. the phrase 'There's no such thing as bad publicity' may be rather apt. The wide press and media coverage, describing Christopher Ward as a "luxury watch maker" may ultimately be considered positive for the brand image. Let's hope so anyway!
User avatar
jkbarnes
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 7852
Joined: Wed May 24, 2017 8:39 pm
CW-watches: 3
Location: Virginia, USA

Re: Jaguar to sue Christopher Ward

Post by jkbarnes »

A small, boutique English watch maker being labeled as a luxury brand is good.

However, being sued by a multinational corporation with deep pockets is not good!

I can’t help but wonder what Jaguar’s end game is. I can’t see this being about the money, as there may not be much money to be gotten from CW. I suppose, as others suggested, this is about enforcing trademarks? So perhaps a mea culpa, a promise not to do it again, and a token settlement would satisfy Jaguar?

With the way my mind operates, all I’ve beennthinking since this made the news is should I buy a C65 Trident GMT now while I still can. I tend to be the doom & gloom sort.
Drew
kiter65
Trusted Seller
Trusted Seller
Posts: 3959
Joined: Sun Feb 16, 2014 2:45 pm
CW-watches: 0

Re: Jaguar to sue Christopher Ward

Post by kiter65 »

If I’ve heard right jaguar are going on a three day week :shock: I would have thought they had more pressing problems than this or has CW damaged their image that much :escape:
User avatar
Tyke
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 5944
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 9:47 pm
CW-watches: 0

Re: Jaguar to sue Christopher Ward

Post by Tyke »

jkbarnes wrote: Mon Sep 17, 2018 7:21 pm
With the way my mind operates, all I’ve beennthinking since this made the news is should I buy a C65 Trident GMT now while I still can. I tend to be the doom & gloom sort.
Could be worth waiting for a closing down sale if Jaguar do their worst.
Mikkei4
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 3587
Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2017 7:20 pm
CW-watches: 0

Re: Jaguar to sue Christopher Ward

Post by Mikkei4 »

Tyke wrote: Mon Sep 17, 2018 9:06 pm
jkbarnes wrote: Mon Sep 17, 2018 7:21 pm
With the way my mind operates, all I’ve beennthinking since this made the news is should I buy a C65 Trident GMT now while I still can. I tend to be the doom & gloom sort.
Could be worth waiting for a closing down sale if Jaguar do their worst.
is that a Jaguar closing down sale?
User avatar
Tyke
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 5944
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 9:47 pm
CW-watches: 0

Re: Jaguar to sue Christopher Ward

Post by Tyke »

Mikkei4 wrote: Mon Sep 17, 2018 10:19 pm
Tyke wrote: Mon Sep 17, 2018 9:06 pm
jkbarnes wrote: Mon Sep 17, 2018 7:21 pm
With the way my mind operates, all I’ve beennthinking since this made the news is should I buy a C65 Trident GMT now while I still can. I tend to be the doom & gloom sort.
Could be worth waiting for a closing down sale if Jaguar do their worst.
is that a Jaguar closing down sale?
Of course.......What else could I have meant. 50% off an F Pace anyone?
User avatar
theemaadhatter
Senior Expert
Senior Expert
Posts: 298
Joined: Mon Dec 04, 2017 4:00 am
CW-watches: 8
Location: Vermont, USA

Re: Jaguar to sue Christopher Ward

Post by theemaadhatter »

kiter65 wrote: Mon Sep 17, 2018 8:15 pm If I’ve heard right jaguar are going on a three day week :shock: I would have thought they had more pressing problems than this or has CW damaged their image that much :escape:
No. This is utterly pressing. It appears Jag is upset that their cars don’t work as well as the CW D-type watches and it has damaged their reputation of being predictably unreliable vehicles. So pressing in fact that they waited a couple years before mentioning it. Of course, it can take a couple years of use before you really know if something works well or was worth the money, especially with high humidity. There, I said it.
TMH (https://watchcomplications.com)
"it is maddening choosing your outfit based on the watch you want to wear..."
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post