Apple pays Swiss Rail $21M to use iconic clock design

US tech giant Apple has dished out 20 million Swiss francs ($21 million, 17 million euros) to compensate Swiss national rail operator SBB for using its famous clock without permission, a Swiss daily reported Saturday.

The Mondaine clock is an OK design but I think Apple could have done a better job on its own and probably could have saved a few million bucks in the process. The $21M figure represents about 10 cents per device if you figure 210M devices going to iOS 6. The exact terms of the deal weren’t given.

A SBB rep said at the time that SBB was more interested in bringing clarity to where and how Apple could use the logo than in raking in cash. ”We’re rather proud that a brand as important as Apple is using our design,” she said in September.

The clock was designed in 1944 by Swiss engineer Hans Hilfiker and remains the property of SBB. It is still used in SBB’s stations.

[Source: 9to5Mac - Click here to read the full story]