Apple finally posts the 'apology' on their UK site for suing Samsung!
Apple vs. Samsung has been one heck of a saga over the last couple of years. Apple seems to have gotten their way in most parts of the world, but time after time the UK seems to have dismissed their claims.
With Apple choosing to sue Samsung for their original Galaxy Tab 10.1 a UK judge thought Apple had taken a step too far! Apple were subsequently ordered to put an 'apology' on their website explaining that Samsung had not copied their iPad design.
This is not so much an apology as a self-promotion for Apple, but it's something nonetheless! If you'd like to see the full release you can find it here or the full transcript is below!
"On 9th July 2012 the High Court of Justice of England and Wales ruled that Samsung Electronic (UK) Limited’s Galaxy Tablet Computer, namely the Galaxy Tab 10.1, Tab 8.9 and Tab 7.7 do not infringe Apple’s registered design No. 0000181607-0001. A copy of the full judgment of the High court is available on the following link www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Patents/2012/1882.html.
In the ruling, the judge made several important points comparing the designs of the Apple and Samsung products:
“The extreme simplicity of the Apple design is striking. Overall it has undecorated flat surfaces with a plate of glass on the front all the way out to a very thin rim and a blank back. There is a crisp edge around the rim and a combination of curves, both at the corners and the sides. The design looks like an object the informed user would want to pick up and hold. It is an understated, smooth and simple product. It is a cool design.”
“The informed user’s overall impression of each of the Samsung Galaxy Tablets is the following. From the front they belong to the family which includes the Apple design; but the Samsung products are very thin, almost insubstantial members of that family with unusual details on the back. They do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design. They are not as cool.”
That Judgment has effect throughout the European Union and was upheld by the Court of Appeal on 18 October 2012. A copy of the Court of Appeal’s judgment is available on the following link www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2012/1339.html. There is no injunction in respect of the registered design in force anywhere in Europe.
However, in a case tried in Germany regarding the same patent, the court found that Samsung engaged in unfair competition by copying the iPad design. A U.S. jury also found Samsung guilty of infringing on Apple’s design and utility patents, awarding over one billion U.S. dollars in damages to Apple Inc. So while the U.K. court did not find Samsung guilty of infringement, other courts have recognized that in the course of creating its Galaxy tablet, Samsung willfully copied Apple’s far more popular iPad."
In other news:
- Apple's iPad Mini in white may take a little bit longer to get to you then you may have planned, with the 16GB white version being subject to two week delays! The Black version of the same size and all other sizes remain available!
- HTC's Q3 Operating profit has dived by 76% compared to the same quarter last year! The company has announced there are worse times ahead for Q4.
- Samsung has outsold Nokia again which confirms that Samsung is the world's largest phone manufacturer.
- Samsung also announced that they made $7.4billion in profit from Q3! Another stellar quarter for the South Korean Giants!
- Strategy Analytics have released an updated list of tablet sales based on the OS' that the devices run. This time Android devices have gobbled up even more of Apple's market share; Apple now has 56.7% of the market, whereas Android devices make up 41.3% of sales. The next set of results will be different
- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is coming to Android and iOS this autumn!
And finally, is this one of the first indications that a Samsung Nexus 10 tablet really is on the way? These are pictures posted on Google+ by a Google exec who was seemingly on holiday somewhere rather nice!
Via Slashgear.
