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- Apple cannot block Swiss watchmaker Swatch from trademarking the phrase "one more thing" in the UK.
- Steve Jobs, the Apple cofounder, who died in 2011, often used the phrase during product reveals.
- A UK judge on Monday said Apple couldn't block Swatch, even if the Swiss firm was trying to "annoy" Apple.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Apple has lost a legal bid to stop the Swiss watchmaker Swatch using Steve Jobs' famous "one more thing" catchphrase in a trademark.
Apple cofounder Jobs, who died in 2011, often said "one more thing" at the end of an Apple presentation before announcing a surprising new product. When Swatch filed to trademark the phrase in the UK, Apple objected, and the battle went to court.
Judge Iain Purvis said in his ruling on Monday that Swatch may have tried to "annoy" Apple with its trademark, but that Apple can't block the Swiss watchmaker from using it, Bloomberg first reported.
Purvis overturned a previous court ruling. He said that a previous court officer was wrong to say that "Swatch's intentions had stepped over the line between the appropriate and inappropriate use of a trade mark," per Bloomberg.
The London judge added that the phrase may have originated from the 1970s fictional television detective Columbo, who was known for catching criminals and saying, "just one more thing."
A Swatch spokesperson declined Insider's request to comment. Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
The feud is part of a long-running dispute between Apple and Swatch over the naming of their watches. Swatch managed to block Apple from naming a new watch "iWatch" in 2014, as it was ruled too similar to the iSwatch, per Bloomberg.
The argument stretched to other trademarks, including Swatch's decision to use the slogan "Tick Different," which Apple claimed was too similar to its own slogan, "Think Different." Apple also lost this battle.