Swiss Federal Railways Accuses Apple Of Copying Its Clock Design

Apple is famous for accusing Samsung of "slavishly copying" the design of its iPhone. The copying claims led to a long-running legal battle that ultimately resulted in Samsung owing Apple about $1 billion. It seems Apple has been doing a bit of copying designs of its own.

The Swiss are famous for clocks and watches. Switzerland has long been the source of some the most iconic watch designs and beautifully intricate timepieces in the world. The Swiss Federal Railway service has accused Apple of copying its iconic railway clock.

Clearly looking at the two clocks side-by-side, they are identical save for the Swiss clock's logo. You can see in the image above the shocking similarities between the two. The Apple digital clock pictured is used in the iPad Clock app.

The Swiss clock was originally designed by Hans Hilfiker and is described as an icon for the Swiss railway and Switzerland. The clock is trademarked and copyrighted by the Swiss Federal Railways service. The railway service has been licensing the use of the clock design, and Apple isn't one of these licensees. I sense another court case brewing.

[via MacRumors]