Making time. (Photo credit: Artisans de Genève)
Courts on both sides of the Atlantic seem to agree: Businesses that sell customized Rolex watches infringe on Rolex's trademark, but a business can legally personalize a watch owned by a customer.
The Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland reversed last week the lower court's decision after one of the biggest Swiss-watch customization brands, Artisans de Genève, was sued by Rolex S.A. Artisans de Genève made the news last year, when Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine revealed a personalized neon-green Daytona. The Supreme Court said Artisans de Genève is not infringing on Rolex trademark as long as it sells customization services and not customized watches.
The decision came coincidentally the same week a U.S. Court of Appeals told a Texas-based dealer he could not sell customized Rolex watches, but could customize a watch upon request after it had already been purchased, as reported in theses pages.