Reuters:

Apple is not able to launch its new smartwatch in Switzerland until at least the end of this year because of an intellectual property rights issue, Swiss broadcaster RTS reported on its website.

The U.S. tech giant cannot use the image of an apple nor the word “apple” to launch its watch within Switzerland, the home of luxury watches, because of a patent from 1985, RTS reported, citing a document from the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property.

The document, reprinted on the RTS website, was published by trade magazine Business Montres & Joaillerie, RTS said.

The patent is set to finish on Dec. 5 of this year. It currently belongs to William Longe, who owns watch brand Leonard that first filed the patent.

Given the short shelf life of this trademark, I imagine it wouldn’t take much money to make this go away.

Update: As pointed out in the comments, this is a trademark issue, not a patent issue. If you are interested in the details and happen to speak French, here’s a link to the original article which has the legal document embedded within.