Apple Reportedly Paid $21 Million for Rights to Swiss Railways Clock Design

neiltc13 said:

Or you could look at it another way - 21 million that could have been spent upgrading Mac Pro or fixing Final Cut Pro X, but they chose to spend it on a fancy clock instead.

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Yeah, because throwing money at a problem creates better software instantly..

I am sure the groups responsible for those 2 things are quite heavily funded

Apple is always very fair about paying up when they steal IP from other companies.

So Apple paid 21 Million for a flippin' clock and only paid 2.5 million to help Hurricane Sandy victims?


What a load of BS...shows how much Apple cares.

Tucom said:

So Apple paid 21 Million for a flippin' clock and only paid 2.5 million to help Hurricane Sandy victims?


What a load of BS...shows how much Apple cares.

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Oh please, what a stupid statement. I hope you have donated every cent you earn that doesn't go directly to something that you absolutely cannot live without.

I suppose Apple should also buy a house for every homeless person in the country. They can technically afford it, so why don't they?

Macist said:

Wait... that clock design is a copyrighted 'design'? It looks like the most generic interpretation of the 'clock concept' I've ever seen.

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There was a time that this clock was the only one like it.

What a waste of money. I guess Apple needs to do something with their billions in the bank.

This is one of the few parts of iOS where I reckon skeuomorphism actually looks good!

Macist said:

Wait... that clock design is a copyrighted 'design'? It looks like the most generic interpretation of the 'clock concept' I've ever seen.

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It works both ways. You could argue the same about all tablets having a black border.

Puts things into perspective.
Sandy relief 2.5 million $
Clock face. 21 million $

It sounds a little fishy. I expect we will see additional articles this week disputing this 21 million dollar figure.

So Apple is not fine with licensing a perfectly functional Google Maps, but is ok with licensing a Swiss clock for 21 M?

Apple's really got their priorities straightened out. I love iOS 6, I really do, this statement just explains iOS 6 in a nutshell.
/sarcasm if anybody didn't catch it.

iGrip said:

Apple is always very fair about paying up when they steal IP from other companies.

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and so is everyone else, when they get caught...the same applies to every large company - Apple is no exception.

Pricey icon.

This can't be accurate. If it were, Apple would have the right to use it everywhere and they're only using it for iPads. Apple has very talented designers on staff, why pay $21m for something that could be easily replaced with a new, still perfectly adequate design?

admanimal said:

Oh please, what a stupid statement. I hope you have donated every cent you earn that doesn't go directly to something that you absolutely cannot live without.

I suppose Apple should also buy a house for every homeless person in the country. They can technically afford it, so why don't they?

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Oh please, what dumb logic and rebuttle; just look at the damn facts, why the hell would Apple waste that much money on a damn clock vs. helping victims? It shows they could have donated alot more, and care more about a damn clock than helping victims.


So please, quit trying to defend something that just makes you look, well, not so great.

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antic said:

Puts things into perspective.
Sandy relief 2.5 million $
Clock face. 21 million $

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This ^

crypticlineage said:

Wow, thats incredible!

Remember that the consumer will be the one picking up the tab at the end.

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It will be consumers (those travelling with the Swiss railway) who get the benefit at the end.

admanimal said:

Oh please, what a stupid statement. I hope you have donated every cent you earn that doesn't go directly to something that you absolutely cannot live without.

I suppose Apple should also buy a house for every homeless person in the country. They can technically afford it, so why don't they?

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Because the could get taxed on that. So it's a big no no.

jayducharme said:

I wonder if that was yet another thing that led to Forstall's departure.

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If he was responsible for that, then it surely didn't help.

wesk702 said:

So Apple is not fine with licensing a perfectly functional Google Maps, but is ok with licensing a Swiss clock for 21 M?

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No, they are not. Using that image without licensing in place was utter stupidity by some clueless employee.

mac1984user said:

A friend of mine has the Mondaine wrist watch and I really enjoy the design, but it's completely superfluous in a UI setting. It seems ridiculous to me (if true), that Apple is willing to part with $21 million for a clock design ...

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Apple isn't paying $21 million for the design. They are paying $21 million for using a design without permission and having to avoid a lawsuit. If some designer at Apple had said to his boss "the Swiss railway has this beautiful design for a clock, I bet we can license it for a million or two", his boss would have asked him what drugs he is on and told him to create his own design, without copying anybody. Unfortunately for Apple, that designer didn't ask his boss.

Switzerland is intimately connected with the major European cults... Perhaps the clock's symbolism was important to Apple, and it had nothing to do with aesthetics.

neiltc13 said:

Or you could look at it another way - 21 million that could have been spent upgrading Mac Pro or fixing Final Cut Pro X, but they chose to spend it on a fancy clock instead.

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Not to mention all of those silly lawsuits, those cost even more than this tiny little settlement.

But I don't think Apple needs more money in order to fix their products, they just need to want to do it, and then "just do it", that's all…

I guess it make sense: with all the money Apple is saving by no paying it fair share of taxes (not only in the US) they can spend 20 -and even more- money on tribal things like this. Hooray!

Sorry but that is ****** ridiculas!!

21 million on a clock!! 2.5 million on Sandy! And there are people starving in the world

Let me get this straight: APPLE has paid 21 million to the Swiss Federal Railways for their iconic clock design, and none of that money may be going to MONDAINE, who is the "sole consumer-focused licensee of the design" and who, despite being reportedly 'happy' about the increased visibility, are NOW, in "discussions" with the SFR. I smell legal complications. Hope this isn't going to be like PROVIEW and the Chinese all over again.

Oh, my! Now I feel guilty that I only look at the digital time at the top of the screen......or ask Siri.

That amount is ridiculous and I don't believe it for a moment. I would have changed the design to show a Swiss guy getting shot at high noon before paying out that much cash in an extortion basis.