Apple accused of stealing iconic Swiss station clock design
22 Sep 2012
Apple, which has launched over 30 patent and design infringement lawsuits worldwide against rivals, has been accused of stealing iconic Swiss station clock design by its owner - Swiss Federal Railways, or SBB.
Switzerland's national rail company Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, better known under its German acronym SBB, yesterday accused Apple of stealing the iconic look of its station clocks for its updated software, introduced this month by Apple on the iPad.
The Cupertino, California-based technology giant recently introduced a clock app to the iPad in iOS 6, but the visual look of the app's analog-style clock face is an exact copy of SBB's clocks used in train stations all over Switzerland.
This is not the first time Apple has been accused of copying an iconic design. The company had used the classic Braun ET44 calculator on its original iOS calculator.
Apple's app includes a round clock face with black indicators except for the second hand, which is red, which represent its first internal timekeeper and also can be used as an alarm clock.
The SBB clock created in the 1940s by engineer and designer Hans Hilfiker has become a design classic. Hilfiker was an SBB employee when he designed the clock and the SBB was looking at a clock that would not only guarantee the smooth running of the trains, but would become part of its national image.
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