In the iOS 6 firmware generation Apple gave the iPad a new stock app, which was the Clock app. The design of the clock was actually copyrighted by the Swiss railway, SBB. As the clock design has become a memorable symbol of both the rail system and the country as a whole, they are pretty protective over it to say the least, and went after Apple about using without their permission.

Apple Pays SBB $21 Million For iOS 6 Clock Design

In the middle of October the SBB announced however, that they came to a licensing agreement with Apple that would allow the clock design to remain in iOS 6. At that time the SBB stated that the details of this agreement would be kept confidential.

Yesterday the French news agency AFP managed to figure out approximately how much the fruit company had to dish out to keep the iOS 6 clock design, and that sum of money was $21 million.

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.

I guess time really is money.

It is good to see that Apple respected the SBB in coming to an agreement, as it was obvious they blatantly ripped their design off. Do you think $21 million was a fair amount to license the clock design? Drop us a line in the comments below.