Apple pays up for stealing clock design from Swiss Railways
Posted: 13 Oct 2012, 08:34
Apple pays up for stealing design from Swiss Railways
Apple may be willing to spend millions in court over some copyright fights, but it has learned the lessons of history and has decided not to mess with the Swiss...
"For the use of the SBB station clock on devices like iPad and iPhone, the Swiss Federal Railways SBB and Apple have agreed and signed a license agreement"
Apple pays out for copying 70-year-old Swiss railway clock design without permission for its iPhone 5
Apple, sensitive about protecting its own designs, has struck a deal to use Swiss railway operator SBB's trademark station clock design on iPads and iPhones.
SBB holds the trademark for a 1944 design by Zurich-born engineer Hans Hilfiker...
'It is a design icon that has obviously lost none of its appeal in the digital age,' the SBB said.
'Even now, it symbolises the innovation and reliability that are key qualities attributed to both SBB and Switzerland as a whole.'
Hilfiker designed the minimalist clock to help travellers check the time at a distance while hurrying to catch trains.
In 1953, he added a red second hand in the shape of a railway guard's signaling disc, which pauses briefly at the top of each minute "to enable trains to depart punctually,' as he put it.
Apple may be willing to spend millions in court over some copyright fights, but it has learned the lessons of history and has decided not to mess with the Swiss...
"For the use of the SBB station clock on devices like iPad and iPhone, the Swiss Federal Railways SBB and Apple have agreed and signed a license agreement"
Apple pays out for copying 70-year-old Swiss railway clock design without permission for its iPhone 5
Apple, sensitive about protecting its own designs, has struck a deal to use Swiss railway operator SBB's trademark station clock design on iPads and iPhones.
SBB holds the trademark for a 1944 design by Zurich-born engineer Hans Hilfiker...
'It is a design icon that has obviously lost none of its appeal in the digital age,' the SBB said.
'Even now, it symbolises the innovation and reliability that are key qualities attributed to both SBB and Switzerland as a whole.'
Hilfiker designed the minimalist clock to help travellers check the time at a distance while hurrying to catch trains.
In 1953, he added a red second hand in the shape of a railway guard's signaling disc, which pauses briefly at the top of each minute "to enable trains to depart punctually,' as he put it.