As the intellectual property litigation between Apple and Samsung kicks off here in the United States, Samsung has secured a significant victory overseas. A judge in the United Kingdom has ordered Apple to run a series of advertisements acknowledging that Samsung did not copy the iPad.
The order follows a ruling that the design of Samsung's Galaxy did not infringe Apple’s popular tablet. According to the Los Angeles Times, Judge Colin Birss said Samsung did not infringe on the iPad since Samsung's Galaxy tablets “do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design.” Birss also added, “They are not as cool.”
According to the judge’s order, the advertisements must run in the UK's Financial Times and Daily Mail newspapers, as well as the magazines Guardian Mobile and T3, which cover new technology. Apple must also post a notice on its UK website, which must appear for at least six months.
Despite the unusual ruling, the judge did deny Samsung's request that Apple be forbidden from continuing to claim that its design rights had been infringed. The court concluded that Apple was entitled to hold the opinion.
Given the tension between the two rivals, Apple clearly does not want to give Samsung any free advertising. It has already announced that it plans to appeal the ruling.
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