British judge orders Apple to run ads saying Samsung did not copy iPad
A British court has ordered Apple to post advertisements saying ‘Samsung did not copy the iPad’ in the court ruling over the ongoing patent battles between the two companies.
The order from High Court Judge Colin Birss states the advertisement should be posted on Apple’s website for six months in addition to being published in major UK newspapers and magazines.
Birss’ order follows last week’s ruling which stated Samsung could not have copied Apple because the South Korean company’s Galaxy tablets were not ‘as cool’ as Apple’s iPad despite their similarities.
During the ruling, Samsung had asked the court to stop Apple from continuing to claim that its design rights had been infringed. But the judge rejected this request saying Apple was entitled to its opinion.
Apple went on to release a statement claiming that the resemblance of Samsung’s latest products to Apple’s iPad and iPhone could not be a coincidence.
“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,” the company added.
The order may be seen as Apple providing free publicity for Samsung since Apple’s advertisements have always refrained from mentioning any competition by name.
Apple will not give up so easily. As one would expect, the Apple’s lawyer said there would be an appeal against the ruling.