Apple Ponies Up And Licenses Swiss Federal Railways SBB Clock

The Swiss Federal Railway SBB group made noise a couple of weeks ago when iOS 6 was released and Apple’s new Clock application used the SBB’s famous clock face as an app icon without licensing it. It seems like the media bonanza that occurred after the public complaints from the SBB has put enough pressure on Apple that it has finally decided to pay a licensing fee to continue using it.

The terms of the deal between the Swiss Federal Railways SBB are private, and neither side has spoken with press regarding the financial compensation.

It’s pretty obvious where Apple got its inspiration from for the clocks application icon. The clock and icon are almost exactly the same, as you can see above. A lot of brands and companies are using the SBB logo in designs; however, they all pay licensing fees to the SBB. The famous clock, designed by Hans Hilfiker, will now adorn iOS for some time, but just how long the license agreement spans is unknown at this point.

Via: The Verge

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