Clock on iOS6 iPads is an homage to a 1944 design by Hans Hilfiker | Hacker News Reader

Clock on iOS6 iPads is an homage to a 1944 design by Hans Hilfiker

de.wikipedia.org

27 pointsmatthaeus20 comments

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.

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

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

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.

> 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.

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.

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

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...

IOS6 clock images here: http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/06/11/new-in-ios-6-a-new-c...

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

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...

It's just a rectangle with very round corners.

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

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

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.

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...

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

What kind of BS is that?

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

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.

The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.

- Albert Einstein

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

Oops?

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