Apple Paid $21 Million To Use A Clock Design

Apple just can’t get out of the line of fire following the law suits with Samsung.

Several weeks ago it was discovered that shortly after the latest iOS update to the iPad, that Apple had stolen the clock design from Switzerland’s Federal Railways service.  Now, despite the Cupertino base company’s recent track record, it would seem that company founded by the late Steve Jobs has decided to avoid any form of litigation.

According to Swiss publication Tages-Anzeiger, Apple has agreed to pay Swiss Federal Railways almost $21 million to use their clock design.  We’re not too surprised as the design is verbatim, but the sum of money seems a bit unprecedented.  Nevertheless, perhaps Apple saw it is as an opportunity for some positive PR spin, which in turn would net them a fair bit of press just before the holiday shopping season kicks into full gear.  After all, the iPad Mini isn’t all that we had hoped it would be, and the Macbook Pro 13-inch with Retina and the iPad 4 are just iterations on existing devices.