Audemars Piguet’s challenge to retain control of Royal Oak IP

The Audemars Piguet x Swatch “Royal Pop” collaboration may be one of the most interesting luxury IP developments of the year, not because of the watches themselves, but because of what the launch potentially signals.

Royal Pop, a highly anticipated collaboration between Swiss watch brand, Swatch and Swiss luxury watch manufacturer, Audemars Piguet (AP), launched in May 2026, and ”reinterprets Royal Oak iconic codes through a disruptive pocket watch”.

For years, the Royal Oak, an iconic watch designed by renowned Swiss watchmaker and artist, Gérald Genta, has been one of the most copied watch designs in the world. However, recent trade mark disputes in the US and Japan have reportedly seen AP struggle to secure protection for elements of the Royal Oak shape itself.

Challenges of preserving exclusivity for luxury brands

This reinforces a difficult reality for luxury brands: once a design becomes culturally ubiquitous, trade mark law may no longer preserve exclusivity in the powerful manner which so many brands enjoy.

This creates an uncomfortable question for luxury houses: if consumers are already buying endless “inspired by” versions of your flagship product, is it better to fight the market or monetise it?

Viewed through this lens, “Royal Pop” starts to look less like a playful collaboration and more like a strategic pivot. A controlled mass-market expansion of a design language which may already have escaped pure luxury containment.

The legal lesson is significant. Fame does not necessarily equal distinctiveness, and even the world’s most recognisable product shapes can become increasingly difficult to monopolise as replicas, homages, and mass-market interpretations flood the market.

For luxury, fashion and lifestyle brands, the challenge is no longer simply protecting IP rights, it is preserving exclusivity itself.

How Hamlins can help

If your business is navigating collaborations, brand protection, licensing or enforcement strategies in increasingly crowded markets, please get in touch with  Hamlins’ Commercial and Tech team to understand how we can help to use IP rights to preserve and enhance your brand value.

We support clients across multiple industries to deliver intellectual property, trade mark, commercial and data protection expertise globally.