Judge Rules Apple Must Run 'Samsung Did Not Copy iPad' Ads
An Apple v. Samsung iPad infringement case has led to a victory for Samsung. A UK judge has ordered Apple to pay for a series of newspaper and magazine ads that disclaim any infringement, Reuters reports.
Apple must also post a notice on its UK website that says Samsung's Galaxy tablets do not copy the iPad's design, the judge ruled. The notice must stay up at least six months.
The same judge last week ruled the design of Samsung's Galaxy was indeed far, far and away different from Apple's design for its much more popular iPad. But the judge's latest ruling wasn't a complete defeat for Apple either.
Apple can still claim, as a matter of opinion, that Samsung infringed on its design rights in the Apple-Samsung iPad dispute, the UK judge held. That's despite the judge's legal finding to the contrary.
In the same case last week, the UK judge said about Samsung's Galaxy tablets: "They are not as cool" as iPads.
Galaxy tablets "do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design," the judge said, according to the Los Angeles Times.
To counter widespread publicity about Apple's infringement claims, Apple must pay for ads in the UK's Financial Times and Daily Mail newspapers, along with the magazines Guardian Mobile and T3, which covers technology and new gadgets. (How the judge's ruling holds up against British law is a matter more in the jurisdiction of our sister website, FindLaw UK.)
"No company likes to refer to a rival on its website," an attorney for Apple said, according to the Los Angeles Times. The company plans to appeal the UK Apple-Samsung iPad ruling.
Related Resources:
- Apple Ordered To Admit That Samsung Is No Copycat (PCWorld)
- Apple Convinces Judge to Stop Samsung Galaxy Tab Sales (FindLaw's In House)
- Samsung Sues Apple Over Emoticon Patent (Sad Face) (FindLaw's Technologist)
- Apple Samsung Lawsuit Headed Back to Federal Circuit (FindLaw's Federal Circuit blog)
