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Apple reaches license agreement for Swiss rail clock design

Swiss Federal Railways announced on Friday that it has reached an agreement with Apple for the use of its famous clock design on iOS devices.


Left: Apple's iOS 6 clock. Right: the clock design owned by SBB.

Apple and the Swiss Federal Railways SBB have already agreed to and signed the deal, the railway announced in a press release. Both parties agreed to keep the licensing fee associated with the deal secret.

The iconic design of the railway station clock was built in 1944 by engineer and designer Hans Hilfiker. A nearly identical design to the SBB clock is featured in the iPad version of Apple's iOS 6 mobile operating system.

The railway announced last month that it would meet with Apple to discuss a deal over the use of its clock design. The design appeared in the "Clock" application of iOS 6 without a proper licensing deal.

The SBB publicly said that it was "proud" Apple chose to use its iconic clock design in iOS 6. The company said it was flattering to have a "brand as important as Apple" use their design.

"There are a lot of brands that use the SBB logo, though nothing like Apple," a company spokeswoman said in September. "It's not just about exchanging money, rather drawing up a contract stating where the logo can be used, under what conditions and for how long."

SBB licenses the clock designs for various products, including its own collection of watches that are available for sale.