Clockmaking sisters slam Rolex's 'nonsense' threats to sue them
Rolex threatens to sue clockmaking sisters unless they rebrand their business – as pair insist they named start-up after the Devon street where they spent their childhood
- Rolex has told Oyster & Pop that company name is a copy of its Oyster range
- The sister duo from Devon said the lawyer’s letters were bullish and ‘nonsense’
- An online petition against Rolex started by sisters has reached 64,000 in a week
Sisters from Devon have slammed watch maker giant Rolex for its ‘nonsense’ threats in a legal row over the name of their clockmaking business.
Rolex lawyers have written to Oyster & Pop claiming that people would link the educational clocks with the brand’s Oyster Perpetual watches.
Director of Oyster & Pop Emma Ross-McNairn said the lawyer’s letters had been bullish and that the situation was ‘nonsense’ as they named their clocks after the street they grew up on.
An online petition started by the sisters titled ‘Help STOP ROLEX from closing down a small women-owned, family business’ has reached over 64,000 signatures in just over a week.
Rolex have been approached for comment by MailOnline.
Director of Oyster & Pop Emma Ross-McNairn (pictured with sister Sarah Davies) said the lawyer’s letters had been bullish and that the situation was ‘nonsense’
Rolex lawyers have written to Oyster & Pop saying people would link the educational clocks (pictured)) with the brand’s Oyster Perpetual watches
Rolex is famous for selling high-end wrist watches including the Oyster Perpetual line (pictured) which retail for thousands of pounds
Oyster & Pop sell colourful wall clocks designed to help children learn to tell the time and are on sale at about £20.
Rolex is famous for selling high-end wrist watches including the Oyster Perpetual line which retail for thousands of pounds.
Lawyers for Rolex argued that the ‘average, reasonably well informed consumer’ would likely call the Rolex line of watches to mind when looking at the Oyster & Pop logo.
They added: ‘Consumers will inevitably be misled into thinking that your products emanate from Rolex.’
As a result the lawyers have demanded the firm change its logo, website domain and name to avoid further action.
Mrs Ross-McNairn said of the Rolex action: ‘It would just crush our business. ‘You see Formula One and Rolex sponsoring such huge events like that, you don’t then think of a children’s clock company.
‘If someone says oyster to me, the first thing I think of is the Oyster Card on the tube, not Rolex watches.
‘They’ve taken such a strong bullish stance. The letters from them have been disappointing and aggressive.
‘I don’t think anyone could confuse our clocks as coming from Rolex.’
The sisters said they used the name of Oyster Bend road for their business, which is where they grew up
Mrs Ross-McNairn started the business with her sister, Sarah Davies in 2020 when she was furloughed.
The pair sell the clocks online alongside other educational products including chores charts and fraction sets.
The 46-year-old explained that they named the firm after the road ‘Oyster Bend’ in Torbay, where the sisters grew up.
She said her firm had responded to Rolex with a nine-page letter highlighting reasons why the business felt the claims from Rolex were unjust.
The sisters had also offered to agree terms with Rolex – that they would never produce an adult watch and would never change the brand’s name to just Oyster.
Thousands of people have since criticised Rolex’s approach following the petition.
Posting online Sheila Clark wrote: ‘I disapprove of the unjustified bullying of small companies by big brands.’
D Montgomery added: ‘A shame Rolex is so bored they threaten a small business of no threat to them using the word Oyster!
‘I hope the court throws this out as a disgraceful waste of resourses and an an attempt to copyright words as names.’
Felicity Bega wrote: ‘I love their clocks, they are used at my son’s school. They are nothing like Rolex watches.’
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