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Apple accused of ripping off famous Swiss clock design

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Re: Apple accused of ripping off famous Swiss clock design

#191
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, I don't understand the satire here. It sounds like you're mimicking the response to claims that Apple stole designs from Braun? But the two situations are nothing alike -- cribbing industrial design elements from defunct products is a far cry from duplicating a trademarked image more or less exactly. It seems more likely you're trying to dig on Apple for going thermonuclear on trade dress while at the same tim…

People probably feel that it is hypocritical to sue one company for copying your designs, and then turn around and copy designs off someone else, especially when they happen right a few months apart. Personally, my moral compass immediately feels that this is worse than just plain copying, and I assume that is why people are reacting with a stronger anti-Apple sentiment here.

The big distinction that seems to be getting missed is that Apple isn't selling wall clocks with this design. So they aren't remotely competing with the designs that they 'copy' from.

Samsung is copying Apple, arguably intentionally, to create directly competing products.

This is a very different thing.

Re: Apple accused of ripping off famous Swiss clock design

#192
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, I don't understand the satire here. It sounds like you're mimicking the response to claims that Apple stole designs from Braun? But the two situations are nothing alike -- cribbing industrial design elements from defunct products is a far cry from duplicating a trademarked image more or less exactly. It seems more likely you're trying to dig on Apple for going thermonuclear on trade dress while at the same tim…

I'm not sure the SBB will sue Apple. Their relationship is a little bit more complex than mere two unrelated companies: Some context: The iPhone has a huge penetration rate in Switzerland (2.9 million devices sold for a population of 8 million people). Switzerland also has very good public transportation, held together by the train system of the SBB. And therefore, almost every iPhone user has the SBB Mobile App inst…

Has Apple ever cracked down on apps that allow the purchase of physical things for not using in-App purchases?

IIRC the only time this has gotten sticky, is when it comes to apps that allow users to buy access to more content that is accessed by that app. (e.g. buying new issues of digital magazines, buying access to new in-game content, buying new ebooks, buying new digital music, etc)

Re: Apple accused of ripping off famous Swiss clock design

#193
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, I don't understand the satire here. It sounds like you're mimicking the response to claims that Apple stole designs from Braun? But the two situations are nothing alike -- cribbing industrial design elements from defunct products is a far cry from duplicating a trademarked image more or less exactly. It seems more likely you're trying to dig on Apple for going thermonuclear on trade dress while at the same tim…

I'm not sure the SBB will sue Apple. Their relationship is a little bit more complex than mere two unrelated companies: Some context: The iPhone has a huge penetration rate in Switzerland (2.9 million devices sold for a population of 8 million people). Switzerland also has very good public transportation, held together by the train system of the SBB. And therefore, almost every iPhone user has the SBB Mobile App inst…

In-App purchases are for digital goods only (Content, Functionality, Services, Subscriptions). You are completely free to sell real/physical goods (ie. a train ticket) via your own payment system.

https://developer.apple.com/appstore/in-app-purchase/In-App-...

"You must deliver your digital good or service within your app. Do not use In-App Purchase to sell real-world goods and services."

Re: Apple accused of ripping off famous Swiss clock design

#194
post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like the end result could have been avoided had the "visionary" simply not been hypocritical and avoided doing "a bad thing".

Yes, and it also could have been avoided if everybody paid more attention to what is beneficial for them (i.e what the visionary said) than to what the visionary does or does not. You just gave a perfect example of the narrow minded logic explained in the article, that cares not what is good for them to do, but if the guy that advocates it is "consistent". Not to mention the other three paragraphs I quoted, that expl…

You're meth example is not the same thing. The meth user's meth usage does not effect the person he tells not to use meth. Well, maybe there's something to be said about the societal issues.

In the room example it is stated the bad thing affects everyone in the room to some detriment. Even though the visionary got everyone to stop, the eventual outcome is the detrimental one since the visionary keeps doing the bad thing. Therefore, in the end it doesn't matter if one of them or all of them does the bad thing. So, the fact that the visionary was a hypocrite has doomed them all. Only when the visionary is not a hypocrite can they all be saved. I believe the bad thing in a room is not a good example of the point to be made. This is more about the potential stupidity of groups of people following leaders (visionary and commentator both) without thinking for themselves. The best thing for the self-interest of the people involved was to individually decide to leave the room.

Re: Apple accused of ripping off famous Swiss clock design

#195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They do not start/stop.

I'm certain I've seen clocks which pause on the minute like the stop-to-go ones sold in rail enthusiast magazines, railway museum gift shops etc. many years ago. Obviously, they don't include an actual stop-to-go master/slave system, they just fake it.

They used to make stoptogo versions back in 2001 but discontinued them because it loose or gain 20s a day.

The real ones get a pulse over the power line from a master clock every minute setting the time. The rotation of the seconds is just a motor using the electric grid's 50 Hz.

Re: Apple accused of ripping off famous Swiss clock design

#197
post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People probably feel that it is hypocritical to sue one company for copying your designs, and then turn around and copy designs off someone else, especially when they happen right a few months apart. Personally, my moral compass immediately feels that this is worse than just plain copying, and I assume that is why people are reacting with a stronger anti-Apple sentiment here.

The big distinction that seems to be getting missed is that Apple isn't selling wall clocks with this design. So they aren't remotely competing with the designs that they 'copy' from. Samsung is copying Apple, arguably intentionally, to create directly competing products. This is a very different thing.

Sure, nice workaround. But the swiss design is actually used on any watches. And because many people use their phones also as watches we can therefore declare that Apple is a competitor of Mondaine. And stealing is stealing, no matter what is the purpose, as far as I know. But what do I know right ? I'm not even an Apple fan.

Re: Apple accused of ripping off famous Swiss clock design

#198
post #112

The Swiss had the right idea, but they made a crucial mistake in their implementation: they completely missed that people might want to look at the watch while on the move, and opted for a stationary, heavy and immobile implementation. By putting it onto a small, portable device, Apple arguably added the crucial ingredient to make it a mass success (billions of users instead of a few Swiss citizens, who even have to…

It is already on every SBB LCD on almost all trains/trams/buses. http://goo.gl/k4phm

Re: Apple accused of ripping off famous Swiss clock design

#199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People probably feel that it is hypocritical to sue one company for copying your designs, and then turn around and copy designs off someone else, especially when they happen right a few months apart. Personally, my moral compass immediately feels that this is worse than just plain copying, and I assume that is why people are reacting with a stronger anti-Apple sentiment here.

> People probably feel that it is hypocritical to sue one company for copying your designs, and then turn around and copy designs off someone else, especially when they happen right a few months apart. Only those two are in totally unrelated fields, namely some railway clock and a mobile phone.

Does it matter if they are in unrelated fields ? And if Mondaine is selling hand watches with that design, and they, paid for the license, why shouldn't Apple pay too ? If my intellectual property is used in an "unrelated field" does it cease to be my intellectual property ?

Re: Apple accused of ripping off famous Swiss clock design

#200
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the Apple RDF was more a "Steve Jobs" RDF

Actually, that's exactly right, according to Bud Tribble, the person who coined it, inside Apple: "Bud, that's crazy!", I told him. "We've hardly even started yet. There's no way we can get it done by then." "I know," he responded, in a low voice, almost a whisper. "You know? If you know the schedule is off-base, why don't you correct it?" "Well, it's Steve. Steve insists that we're shipping in early 1982, and won't…

I like how most people remember the bit about the reality distortion field but don't remember the part about Jobs stealing people's ideas and presenting them as his own.
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