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

[brewno]

Now that they paid that much I wanna see it on my iPhone as well, not only on my iPad.

 

[KPOM]

I mean it's nice but... was paying 20mill cheaper than loosing an argument?

My guess is that it is based on an estimate of the number of devices sold that use that design. Since Apple sells a lot of iPads, the royalties are higher.

 

[Omacc]

apple stupid for that bruh..

 

[thejadedmonkey]

I'd be willing to bet, it was 21m to the railroad and an agreement to remove it from iOS 7. Which is why Mondaine is "Okay" with the terms. He gets TONS of publicity, and then goes right back to being the sole provider of the clock face.

 

[ValO]

This is just PR.
Apple has gotten a lot of negative response and news about patent lawsuits.
They want to show everyone that they will pay if they infringe on patents, instead of going to court.

Unlike samsung, etc.

 

[dazed]

Should have given that money to charity and just used the old clock.

 

[tekno]

Should have given that money to charity and just used the old clock.

So true. Because that's how Apple have got so big. In fact, from now on, Apple should give to charity all the money they would otherwise spend on R&D.

 

[mertyz]

Showing people that they respect to patents is more valuable than $21 million for Apple in this case.

Once again, a nice move from Apple.

 

[nick_elt]

20 million dollars would be pocket change to a company like Apple. Seems both parties are happy. Mondaine and the Swiss railway are happy of the money as well as the publicity of the design.

Yet they could only donate 2.5mil to the red cross

 

[macfacts]

So essentially they paid 21 million bucks for the styling of that second hand.

Apple paid $21 million cause they got caught red handed, not because of any styling.

 

[driceman]

Why? Because they can.

 

[natej2010]

honestly not that expensive

Apple has sold approximately 84 million ipads thats literally $00.25 an ipad which isn't all that expensive.

 

[vmachiel]

Well... It's not like they can't spare any cash

 

[Macboy Pro]

LOL

 

[jimmyb5374]

So true. Because that's how Apple have got so big. In fact, from now on, Apple should give to charity all the money they would otherwise spend on R&D.

Or maybe they should give to charity all the money they plan to pee up the wall in the next 12 months on licensing rip offs of other peoples ideas ?

(see its not just a samsung thing die-hard apple fans) !!!!!

 

[Gunny011]

Here's me thinking my Omega watch was expensive..

 

[Eso]

The worst part is that the clock doesn't even work.

 

[Blakjack]

It's beyond stupid to pay 21 million for that, especially when the clock app that exists on the phone is perfectly fine in terms of its look.

 

[medazinol]

$21 million for a clock design....

I can't even fathom that. The money that companies are throwing around these days for crazy things boggles the mind.

 

[Tech198]

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.

LoL... true.. ... (Bloody Apple). But then Apple expects all their customers to donate anyway, so it would make up the difference. (Hopefully).

This is just PR.
Apple has gotten a lot of negative response and news about patent lawsuits.
They want to show everyone that they will pay if they infringe on patents, instead of going to court.

Unlike samsung, etc.

Is this the Apple way is it? I thought thats what corts are for. Tough guys huh?

 

[Boghog]

Apple paid $21 million cause they got caught red handed, not because of any styling.

That's right. And to those who keep comparing these $21M to the $2.5M they gave for Sandy: Apple is answerable to their shareholders. When they give $2.1M for a good cause they can justify it as a worthwhile PR expense. If they give much more, shareholders will not accept it that easily.
The $21M for the clock were paid because they HAD TO because they had already infringed on the design. It was too late to just change it.

 

[NewbieCanada]

Wow. I would have just changed the clock design in an iOS update and called it good.

So if I stole your car, stopped driving it and bought another one, you'd be OK with that?

Nothing they did at this point would have mitigated Swiss Railways' claim against them - their options were paying up or going to court. They took the cheapest option.

 

[SactoGuy18]

US$21 million? That's essentially "seat cushion found" change for a company like Apple with over US$100 BILLION in cash reserves!

 

[gotluck]

Wow seriously I'd be okay with a 6.0.2 update with the old clock

Apple just has money to burn

Yep, Yet they burn it on foolish things...

 

[Anuba]

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

"What's so special about the original iPhone? It's just a standard fare smartphone with a big screen and a bunch of icons, I don't get it."

Sure, NOW the clock face is generic, but it's from 1944. Look at all other clock faces from the 1940's and you'll know why this one is an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. It has influenced every other clock face you've seen. Apple made the mistake of ripping the original.