Apple pays Swiss railway clock design

Now Apple pays $21 million to use Swiss railway clock design

Apple, who was of late accused of copying the design of the iconic Swiss Railway station clock for the new iPad clock app in iOS 6, reportedly paid about $21 million for the right to license the clock's design, reports mashable citing the local Swiss publication Tages-Anzeiger.

The clock was designed by a Swiss engineer Hans Hilfiker in 1944 and has since achieved an icon status in Switzerland. The Swiss Federal Railway holds the rights over the design of the clock. But Apple had apparently not obtained the necessary permission to reuse the design.

However, later Apple struck a deal with Switzerland's national rail company to license the use of its iconic station clocks for the iOS 6 operating system, which is used by iPhone and iPad mobile devices. At that time Swiss Federal Railways, or SBB said the deal's terms including the amount of the licensing fee would remain confidential, but now it's been reported that Apple paid about $21 million for the right to license the clock’s design for use on the iPad.