Swiss Federal Railways Says Apple Copied Its Iconic Railway Clock

I think they are different enough to not need licensing.

The small hash marks are longer on the Apple version.
The hour hand is thicker than the minute hand on the Swiss version.
The second hand is longer on the Swiss version.
The minute hand is longer on the Swiss version.
The hour hand is longer on the Swiss version.
There is no logo on the Apple version.
 
That design absolutely jumped out at me when I opened the app. I'm really surprised to read that there was no consideration at Apple of using this. I mean, how can a company that's given us some of the most iconic designs of the past decades have decided just to lift someone else's, you know, iconic design? I wonder if they thought it would be considered an homage? The Swiss will be flattered! Somebody dropped the ball here.
 
-What was that guy's name again?
-The designer guy?
-Yeah yeah! Well his cubicle is vacant now!
 
What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

My guess is that Apple shareholders will be paying a small subsidy to help operate the Swiss railway system. Or Apple could just change the clock (which suggests SBB does not have a ton of leverage here).
 
"Pfft, the Swiss didn't invent the clock." - Samsung fanboys

"You can't patent circles." - Samsung fanboys
 
It's funny to see that "minor" differences are enough deny a copy when Apple is being attacked but minor differences when Apple is doing the attacking are more than enough to go to war over. :/
 
BKF said:
That design absolutely jumped out at me when I opened the app. I'm really surprised to read that there was no consideration at Apple of using this. I mean, how can a company that's given us some of the most iconic designs of the past decades have decided just to lift someone else's, you know, iconic design? I wonder if they thought it would be considered an homage? The Swiss will be flattered! Somebody dropped the ball here.
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Well it's one thing if they were competing with them selling clocks.....


Looks like Apple will have to write a check
 
dwhittington said:
Not an exact copy. The proportions of the lines and hands of the clock are not identical.
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That's true...... each element has a slightly different proportion, but there's no doubt the overall look is the same.

Is this not what Apple was arguing about with Samsung? It's obvious where the idea came from, and that's enough to be infringing on the Swiss design. I'm surprised that Apple thought this wouldn't be a problem.
 
It looks almost the same, but you can tell that Apple tweaked almost every part of the design, so they could just claim they used the design as inspiration, but didn't copy it.

- the second hand has the red dot at the center, it is shorter, and the big dot looks smaller.
- the hour and minute hands are shorter, thinner and more uniform in width, where the swiss clock's hands are thicker and taper.
- the minute markings are thinner and longer
- the hour markings are thicker
 
I noticed immediately it was a Mondaine clock face, itself was inspired by the swiss railway clocks. But never knew it was trademarked.

We can pray Apple do the right thing in this case!

Also, why are a lot of UK cities missing in the iPad clock app ... I wanted them to get the associated weather!
 
atari1356 said:
Remove the red dot from the end of the seconds hand, and then I think there's no problem... otherwise it looks like every clock face in existence.
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Glad I'm not the only one who wondered that. In terms of pure aesthetics, this is a beautiful, almost perfect design, but functionally, it's flawed.
 
markie said:
I seriously hope Apple gets slapped BIG TIME for this one. Really, really, big. $1 billion dollars big.
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LoL, a billion dollars? I'll concede, its pretty much a rip off, but the damages won't reach anywhere close to that. Million bucks, max, calling it here.
 
Wait a minute! Where are all the Android guys in here screaming about how Swiss Federal Railways can't copyright shapes?! :rolleyes:
 
I would expect Apple to make this right rather than fighting it. That is the difference between Apple and Samsung - Samsung feels entitled to copy.

And regarding the comment about the accuracy of Apple's vs the Swiss clock, the Swiss are known for their mechanical watches (Rolex and Omega being probably the best known brands) but as nice as these watches are, Apple's version, getting the time from a cellular signal, is no doubt more accurate. Just say'n!
 
Virtualball said:
There's really no dispute here, but c'mon, a clock face? Are we going to start accusing Maxis of copying Sherwin-Williams' wallpaper because there's a similar shade of blue in the Sims? :rolleyes:
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lol. You are missing the point. apple sues everyone for everything. They have a BUNCH of law suits coming their way between this and a few from google.

They will be fine. I dont like that clock anyways!
 
thefizzle657 said:
Did Apply really think that nobody would find out about this? Talk about willful infringement. Just shows you how hypocritical Apple really is.
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Apple's being the big schoolyard bully lately. There's some things I really respect about them (LGBT rights, good repair policies for accidental damage, stores in big cities with free high speed WiFi) but I sold my iPhone 4S and bought a Galaxy Nexus. Yes, it's UGLY in comparison but my phone stays in a case 99% of the time. Functionally, it's actually a lot nicer than my iPhone was. And they bear NO resemblance to each other whatsoever.
 
Like the famous ad-libbed line Orson Welles said in The Third Man...."A thousand years of peace in Switzerland and all they have produced is the cuckoo clock."
Once again, clocks remain the sole reminder that we have...on our planet...a place called Switzerland.
 
They are probably seeing it just as you see big lotto winners. They start finding "family" they didn't know they had, or that ever gave a **** about them.

Someone see's it as a big payout, and when you become the most valuable traded company in the world, who loves to pick fights with people you're bound to get the horns eventually.
 
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