

Clock on iOS6 iPads is an homage to a 1944 design by Hans Hilfiker - matthaeus
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schweizer_Bahnhofsuhr

======
sp332
Is it not an explicit reference to this design? I didn't know the specific
source, but it's so iconic I automatically assumed it was a copy of something.

------
pazimzadeh
I would say tribute, not copy. The calculator app resembles the 1977 Braun
calculator: <http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2007/07/iphones-design/>.

~~~
pan69
Ah OK. So when Apple steals design its a tribute but when Samsung does it it's
stealing. Noted.

~~~
mdiep
I think the argument is that if Apple made a calculator that looked like the
Braun one it would be stealing. But since it's not the same type of device,
it's a tribute. I'm not sure if this is a valid legal argument, but I
understand it.

Let's not confuse arguments that benefit Apple with blind support of Apple.
Intentionally making a phone that copies the iPhone is clearly wrong, IMO.
This clock issue is quite a bit murkier.

~~~
rsynnott
> I'm not sure if this is a valid legal argument

Well, a tribute isn't a legal thing (and trademark and patent infringement is
not stealing). But yes, it'd be hard to see a design patent on the clock
effecting a representation of the clock drawn on a screen (and any patent
would in any case have long since expired) and trade dress and other consumer
confusion stuff certainly wouldn't apply, as no-one is confused by the iPad
into thinking it's a wall clock from the 40s.

------
ghshephard
This is an homage - Apple makes it absolutely clear as to whether they adopted
Hilfiker's clock for the iPad, whether they adopted the 1977 Braun calculator
for the iPhone, or Dieter Brahm's Tape recorder for the Podcast app. They are
paying tribute to those iconic designs.

I guess the question is - whether someone who was going to purchase Hilfiker's
clock for their wall, will mistakenly purchase an iPad instead...

Seriously though - I have to believe in this IP excited environment that we're
in, that the lawyer must have signed off (in triplicate) before they released
this clock on the iPad.

~~~
sp332
Tiny nitpick, but it's Dieter Rams' tape recorder.

~~~
ghshephard
Huge detail - sorry about that, and thanks for the correction.

Just spent 10 minutes reviewing everything he invented for Apple. :-)

[http://gizmodo.com/343641/1960s-braun-products-hold-the-
secr...](http://gizmodo.com/343641/1960s-braun-products-hold-the-secrets-to-
apples-future)

------
buro9
IOS6 clock images here: [http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/06/11/new-in-
ios-6-a-new-c...](http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/06/11/new-in-ios-6-a-new-
clock-app-for-the-ipad/)

Swiss Railway clock images here:
[http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=swiss+railway+clock&tbm...](http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=swiss+railway+clock&tbm=isch)

------
Bud
I have this exact design on my wrist; just get a Mondaine Big Date watch.
Extremely readable and elegant design. I get comments on it all the time. And
it's quite affordable!

[http://www.amazon.com/Mondaine-White-Black-
Leather-A627-3030...](http://www.amazon.com/Mondaine-White-Black-
Leather-A627-30303-11SBB/dp/B000AR7ALK)

------
pohl
It's just a rectangle with very round corners.

------
manaskarekar
1\. Is the design protected? 2\. Has anyone confirmed Apple did not license
this from whoever holds the rights to the design?

~~~
anonymouz
Another submission of the same story contains a link to a (German) newspaper
article at [http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/digital/mobil/Apple-kopiert-
die-...](http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/digital/mobil/Apple-kopiert-die-
beruehmte-SBBUhr/story/26209939) .

There it is claimed that the SBB (Swiss Federal Railway company) holds the
copyright and trademark on the clock. A representative claims that the use is
indeed unauthorized, and that they are contacting Apple, trying to seek a
legal and financial solution.

------
Steko
A little more info here. The design is still protected and Swiss Railways will
certainly end up with some nice cash from this:

[http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/business/Apple_takes_a_bite_of_S...](http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/business/Apple_takes_a_bite_of_Swiss_rail_design.html?cid=33561358)

------
nchapman
I would say, like the calculator on the iPhone, they are paying homage to that
design.

~~~
johansch
What kind of BS is that?

You mean, as in "I will now pay homage to HBO by torrenting the second season
of Carnivale"?

~~~
nickadams
How is that even close to the same thing?

1) As was said above, no one will mistakenly buy an iPad instead of one of
these railway clocks -- typically the grounds around which these IP
infringement cases revolve -- and I'm not even sure if you can even buy this
clock anyway.

2) Apple isn't illegally distributing these preventing their creator from a
source of revenue they previously had.

This is quite obviously a digital homage to an iconic physical product much
like the Braun calculators.

I'm not saying this is a good approach for Apple, or that they're safe from
more general copyright infringement, but you've twisted the logic here so
badly it misrepresents the issue.

------
mtgx
_The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources._

\- Albert Einstein

------
president
So...they're paying homage to the clock face.

------
jonny_eh
Oops?

