Licensing fee is the solution to the Swiss train clock vs Apple iPad, iPhone

The SBB/CFF copyrighted clock at Zurich station

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – The famous Swiss train station clock designed in 1944 by Hans Hilfiker will stay on Apple iPhones and iPads, after Apple and the SBB/CFF Swiss rail company settled on licensing terms 12 October, the two companies announced Friday night.

The readily identifiable clocks appeared recently on the Apple devices and the Swiss rail company quickly pointed out that the clock design is legally protected.

The terms of the agreement will not be disclosed, the two companies say. “It is a design icon that has obviously lost none of its appeal in the digital age,” the Swiss rail firm says in a press release.

“A special feature of the clockface is its striking red second hand in the shape of a railway guard’s signalling disc. Even now it symbolises the innovation and reliability that are key qualities attributed to both SBB and Switzerland as a whole.

Whew, my iPad, showing the now-legal Swiss train station clock