Swatch Is Secretly Stockpiling Patents

That’s one way to take advantage of the smartwatch boom.

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By Hugo Miller

December 10, 2015 at 4:00 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

This article is part of the December 14, 2015 issue of businessweek.

Ever since smartwatches started hitting the market, Swatch Group Chief Executive Officer Nick Hayek has downplayed their importance, dismissing even Apple’s offering as “not a milestone” and saying the devices pose no threat. But he’s not taking any chances.

Swatch has filed 173 U.S. and international patent applications related to smart- and connected watches in recent years, most of them since 2012, according to Envision IP, a patent law firm in Raleigh, N.C. While aggressive patent filing is an essential protective strategy in the hyperlitigious technology industry, Envision says Swatch is laying the foundation for a potential lineup of smartwatches. The Swiss company has “developed and patented watch circuitry and hardware that will allow them to introduce their own branded smartwatch without having to partner with telecoms and handset makers,” says Maulin Shah, Envision’s managing attorney.