Licensing

Apple has come to an agreement with the Swiss national railway to license their iconic, minimalist white, black, and red design for the iOS 6 Clock app for iPad, according to a press release issued by the SBB (translated by Google):

The European Union is seeking changes to current music licensing rules that prevent companies such as Apple with its iTunes Store from easily setting up an EU-wide online music store. If the ruling gets passed, it could force music royalty-collection societies to pass their revenue streams to their rivals if they fail to license music to online services in multiple countries. Bloomberg. reports:

Music copyright licenses are granted on a national basis in the EU so consumers can only download music from an iTunes store in their home country. The EU has sought to promote pan-European licensing for years, and the commission issued an antitrust decision in 2008 against national agencies that collect royalties on behalf of artists.

Rumor has it that Apple had offered a settlement with an unnamed smartphone manufacturer to license patents for $5 - $15 per device (which worked out to 1% - 2.5% of the total device price). Apple is making ground in its ongoing patent battle with Motorola, but apparently head-to-head litigation isn't the only route they're willing to take.