Apple's Court-Ordered Samsung Apology Comes Under Fire in UK

The Apple-Samsung animosity is far from over, and the latest development is over Apple's court-ordered apology on its UK website.

As part of an infringement ruling in a UK case, the court ordered Apple to publish notices saying that Samsung's products did not infringe on Apple's patents. So Apple published notices that said the UK court didn't find infringement -- but that other courts did.

That wasn't good enough for the UK judge. He found that Apple's statements weren't compliant, and ordered the company to try again. But Apple's second notice, too, has come under fire.

Apple has since changed the notice on its website to reflect the court's order that Samsung did not infringe without any extra biting words. Apple has also published an apology on the front page of its UK website.

But as users of the popular website Reddit noted, the apology is only visible on Apple's UK homepage if users scroll down. And even then, it's still hard to see.

The webpage automatically resizes to make the new iPad mini the focus on the screen. Users can scroll down to see the apology, but it won't show up without scrolling because of how the site is designed, reports CNET.

Critics are crying foul about the placement, although the issue hasn't been raised in court by Samsung yet. While Apple's attempts at an apology may seem a bit disingenuous, the company is not necessarily being malicious.

Many websites use this kind of resizing to improve user experience and to make sure the targeted information is the center of focus. The automatic resizing came just days before Apple's new iPad Mini was announced.

But it also came a few days after the court ordered Apple to publish an apology on its UK website, according to CNET.

Is it an innocent coincidence that the two events coincided? Or was it intentional, to help create plausible deniability?

Unless the issue goes back to the court, it's unlikely the placement of the apology will change. So far Apple hasn't commented on the issue.

Related Resources:

• Judge Rules Apple Must Run 'Samsung Did Not Copy iPad' Ads (FindLaw's Technologist)
• What the Apple Verdict Means for the Smartphone Industry (FindLaw's Technologist)
• Should Lawyers Upgrade to the Samsung Galaxy S III? (FindLaw's Technologist)