Swiss Federal Railways To Apple: Hey, That’s Out Clock Design!

Swiss Federal Railways is making Apple taste its own medicine: It claims that the cool iOS 6 clock design is not an Apple original since they have been using the same design for its iconic clock since 1944

The original clock face was made by celebrated designer Hans Hilfiker and licensed by the Swiss train company to Mondaine, a watchmaker that made the design available around the world.

“We’ve approached Apple and told them that the rights for this clock belong to us,” says Reto Kormann, a spokesman for the train company, known as SBB. “We are proud that this icon of clock design is being used by a globally successful company.”

Kormann adds that the company would like an “amicable agreement” with Apple for a license fee. Several calls and emails to Apple’s Swiss and German offices were left unanswered. Apple is no stranger to such conflicts, having just won a $1 billion verdict over Samsung and called for the ban of Samsung Galaxy sales in the US.