Swiss rail claims Apple copied its iconic clocks
BERLIN (AP) - Switzerland's national rail company accused Apple Inc. on Friday of stealing the iconic look of its station clocks for the iOS 6 operating system used by iPhone and iPad mobile devices.
Both designs have a round clock face with black indicators except for the second hand, which is red.
A spokesman for the Swiss Federal Railways, or SBB, said the Apple design was "identical" to the one pioneered by the rail company in 1944.
"We are proud that this icon of clock design is being used by a globally successful company," Reto Kormann told The Associated Press, but he noted that Apple hadn't asked for permission before doing so.
"We've approached Apple and told them that the rights for this clock belong to us," he said.
Kormann said SBB would seek an "amicable agreement" with Apple that could see the clock design used in return for a license fee.
Apple's public relations offices in Germany and Switzerland didn't respond to repeated calls and emails requesting comment.
The Cupertino, California-based company has itself launched several patent and design rights claims against rival companies in the past.
Last month it won a $1.05 billion judgment against Samsung Electronics in a U.S. patent case.
The new iPhone 5 was launched Friday in eight countries.
Both designs have a round clock face with black indicators except for the second hand, which is red.
A spokesman for the Swiss Federal Railways, or SBB, said the Apple design was "identical" to the one pioneered by the rail company in 1944.
"We are proud that this icon of clock design is being used by a globally successful company," Reto Kormann told The Associated Press, but he noted that Apple hadn't asked for permission before doing so.
"We've approached Apple and told them that the rights for this clock belong to us," he said.
Kormann said SBB would seek an "amicable agreement" with Apple that could see the clock design used in return for a license fee.
Apple's public relations offices in Germany and Switzerland didn't respond to repeated calls and emails requesting comment.
The Cupertino, California-based company has itself launched several patent and design rights claims against rival companies in the past.
Last month it won a $1.05 billion judgment against Samsung Electronics in a U.S. patent case.
The new iPhone 5 was launched Friday in eight countries.
don't mess with the swiss..they have 'watchers'....hope they sue apple for 1 billion dollars!
Apple is far more likely to just insert some nanosized appearance change, like an inserted nanoword, and advertise it, changing both appearance and function. Put some stupid little flashy thing, a periodic LED backlight, or something else minor is far more likely than paying off to a 1944 railroader from Europe. Not that there can't be common ground between the two, with the relationship borne of timekeeping being so strong with both railroaders and computer companies bound to efficiencies measured in time related increments, even if the function for the railroader is pure elapsed time while the computer's version of time is a truncated result, or known calculations such as pi against frontside bus speed or other base functions that are then compared to hydrogen maser timeservers for precise local adjustment.
Now consider the risk side for a sec, relative to unknowns. What if Apple pays off, and creates some minor partnership with the railroader and then finds out that railroad was haulin Nazi's out of Germany to avoid prosecution? Apple has a major dependency on public goodwill that no railroad has ever needed much. So this is a company currying favor with Apple first, and seeking to enforce their rights second which already defeats them in Apple's eye.
Ha ha ha nicely done Swiss Rail
That one seems to be a stretch.
 @cyclops As opposed to Apple claiming Samsung copied their iPhone because theirs was also rounded and had a home button on the bottom. Give me a break
 @Larry*X*K Are you that clueless as to what the patents in question were as far as the Samsung deal goes?  What did you just read a headline somewhere?
 @cyclops  @Larry*X*K You obviously missed the part where Apple stated in court that Samsung had infringed on their patent by manufacturing a rectangular smartphone, claiming they'd invented the shape.
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Yes, Apple claimed to have invented the rectangle. Next up they'll claim to have invented the color white.
Apple should counter sue saying Apple has a patent on the design of the clock face.
 @timdog Apple invented the clock, everyone knows that
Aha! Now the rubber band's on the other claw!!