Apple agrees to sign licencing agreement to use SBB's station clock design on iOS 6 clockface

Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) and Apple have reached an agreement on the use of SBB's station clock on certain devices such as iPads and iPhones. This arrangement has been mutually agreed by both parties in a licence agreement. More details after the jump.

For the use of the clockface on certain Apple devices such as iPads and iPhones, the parties have negotiated an arrangement that enables Apple to use the SBB station clock under a licence agreement. The parties have agreed that the amount of the licensing fee and any further details of the licensing arrangement will remain confidential.

The SBB station clock was designed for the company in 1944 by the engineer and designer Hans Hilfiker. It is a design icon that has obviously lost none of its appeal in the digital age. A special feature of the clockface is its striking red second hand in the shape of a railway guard's signalling disc. Even now it symbolises the innovation and reliability that are key qualities attributed to both SBB and Switzerland as a whole.

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