A high court order has decreed that Apple need to run adverts stating that Samsung did not copy their products. This comes after a failed claim from Apple that Samsung copied their design for the ipad, infringing on Apple’s intellectual copyright.
The order follows comments made by the Apple corporation after the original failed claim. Apple stated on their website “It’s no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging. This kind of blatant copying is wrong and, as we’ve said many times before, we need to protect Apple’s intellectual property when companies steal our ideas.” Samsung’s lawyer said the comments “caused real commercial harm” to the company she represented.
After the original ruling Samsung commented in a press release that if “ Apple continue to make excessive legal claims based on such generic designs, innovation in the industry could be harmed and consumer choice unduly limited.” Apple continue to protect their designs fiercely and have succesfully stopped the Samsung Galaxy Tab being imported to the US through a pre-trial injunction preceding another copyright case against the company.
The summary of the UK case contained the now immortal line from Judge Briss that the “Samsung products…are not as cool” and therefore could not be likened to Apple’s. The embarrassment caused to the company through this could now be slightly appeased by the ruling to force Apple to publicly admit that no copying occurred.
The full details of the court order have not been made public, and no statement was visible on the Apple website at time of writing.
