Apple Must Advertise to Say that Samsung Did Not Copy Its iPad Design

In the latest twist in the ongoing patent war between Apple and Samsung, a British judge has instructed Apple to run ads to say that Samsung did not copy the iPad’s design.

In his ruling last week, Judge Colin Birss said that Samsung tablets “are not as cool” as the Apple iPad and as a result didn’t infringe Apple’s design. The judge ordered Apple to publish a notice on its website and in leading British publications including newspapers the Daily Mail, the Guardian and the Financial Times, to correct any impression that the Samsung had copied Apple. The judge also added that the notice should remain on Apple’s website for at least six months.

A spokeswoman for Samsung said: “Should 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 on the other hand had declined to comment on the order.

In any case, the British court ruling did not specify the content of the advertisement that Apple has to publish which means Apple has complete control of the advertisement, which will give in an opportunity to be cheeky with the messaging and use the “not cool” description as an argument against Samsung. It’ll be interesting to see what Apple does come up with.

It looks like there is no letup in the global patent wars between the two tech giants. Apple’s offensive is seen by many as a direct move to limit the growth of the Android OS and devices with Apple using its rights on patents too aggressively to stamp out competition.

Meanwhile, in late June in the US, Apple won big with a court ruling that banned the sale of a range of Samsung smartphones and tablets including the Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy Tab state side after the Cupertino company claimed Samsung copied some of the technology used in its devices.

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