Apple Watch's Swiss Debut Reportedly Snarled By Patent Dispute

We're not quite sure when Apple was planning to launch its Apple Watch in Switzerland, but one thing we do know is that it's not going to happen until at least the end of the year due to a patent roadblock.

In Switzerland, the rights to "Apple" in conjunction with a watch belongs to watchmaker Leonard's owner William Longe. William has owned the patent since 1985, and in this particular case, that means that it should expire this coming December - the 5th, to be exact.

The fact that this kind of hitch involves Switzerland could be considered ironic, as it's that country's market that could fear the Apple Watch the most, given its rich heritage of watchmaking.

It could be that Apple wouldn't have planned to launch its own watch in Switzerland until after the patent expired anyway, as the speed of the rollout beyond the initial nine countries will be dependent on availability, and Apple is clearly going to focus on the markets first in which it knows the product will sell well.

Set to launch on April 24, the Apple Watch will be available in the U.S., Canada, UK, France, Australia, Germany, China, Hong Kong, and Japan.