Apple has been accused of stealing the design of its new iOS6 iPad Clock application from a famous Swiss train clock created by Hans Hilfiker, leading copyright and trademark holder Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) to seek credit and/or compensation for the alleged infringements. According to Swiss newspaper Blick, SBB licensed the design to a developer in 2009, and the clock appeared in a successful iPad and iPhone app called Swiss Railway Clock. Apple then cloned the clock design for the iPad application in iOS 6.
A photo comparison reveals the clocks to be nearly identical. Both SBB and its watch licensee Mondaine are currently contemplating legal action against Apple, though Mondaine has expressed interest in a non-legal solution that benefits all parties.
