A UK High Court Judge decides in Samsung’s favor, as the Apple-Samsung Patent War rumbles on.
In the ongoing holy war between Apple and Samsung over copyright and design of their respective Tablets, Samsung has won a victory in the UK High Court. Judge Birss ruled that Apple has no basis for its claim that Samsung’s Galaxy is too similar in design to its iPad, and therefore there is no reason to ban sales of the Galaxy in the UK. It’s something of a Pyrrhic victory for Samsung, as Judge Birss said in his ruling that there could be no confusion between the iPad and the Galaxy because the Galaxy wasn’t as cool as Apple’s iPad.
Not the sort of endorsement Samsung is likely to use in its ad campaigns, but at least it got the job done. “Samsung welcomes today’s judgment,” the company said in an official statement, “As the ruling proves, the origin of Apple’s registered design features can be found in numerous examples of prior art.” Samsung described Apple’s legal campaign as “excessive” and said that the consumer’s interests would be harmed if Apple’s claims were allowed to prevail.
Judge Birss’ judgment was simple but damning. “[The Galaxy family of Tablets] do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design,” he said, adding “they are not as cool.” Apple, naturally, disagrees, and a company spokesman reiterated that “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.” Apple has 21 days to appeal the ruling.
In the US, Apple’s fight is still ongoing, though a decision made last Friday overturned a previous injunction against sales of Galaxy Nexus Smartphone. Apple still controls a majority of the Smartphone and Tablet market, but that hasn’t stopped it from trying to smother the competition with lawsuits.
Source: Guardian
