'Cease and Desist!'

By William George Shuster -- JCK Online, 6/1/2008 2:00:00 AM

The Nobel Watch company—which built its 15-year business and reputation on the slogan “I didn't get the Nobel Prize … But I got the Nobel watch”—has been warned by the Nobel Prize's parent foundation to stop using it.

The New York City watch company says it received a letter of warning in March from the Nobel Foundation, based in Stockholm, Sweden. The private foundation manages the assets provided in the will of Alfred Nobel for the annual Nobel Prizes in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace, which it awards. The Nobel Foundation's letter warned Nobel Watch to “cease and desist” using the words “Nobel Prize” in its slogan now and in the future.

The watch company has used the slogan since its inception and says this is the first time it has been challenged. Iszy Genuth, Nobel Watch's chief executive officer, said in a statement that on advice of its legal counsel, the company will continue using the slogan. It retained the New York law firm Schweitzer Cornman Gross & Bondell LLP, which deals in intellectual property law, to represent it.