Publish ad that Samsung didn't copy iPad: UK judge to Apple

For those who thought that the whole Apple vs Samsung fight could not get any more absurd, here’s another example. According to a Bloomberg report, Apple Inc was ordered by a judge to publish a notice on its UK website and in British newspapers alerting people to a ruling that Samsung Electronics Co. didn’t copy designs for the iPad. The report says that Apple’s advertisement should highlight the July 9 London court decision that Samsung’s Galaxy tablets don’t infringe Apple’s registered designs. Oh and to ad insult to the injury, Apple has to keep this ad on its UK website for six months. Well, looks like Samsung is going to get some free publicity thanks to Apple. Previously Judge Colin Birss had said that Samsung’s Galaxy tablets “very thin, almost insubstantial members of that family (Apple iPad ) 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,” he said. “The overall impression produced is different.” See even the judge knows that a Samsung tab is not cool and that the iPad is cooler. It seems Apple’s not only lost the case against Samsung in the UK but it has lost face  thanks to the ridiculous ad order. [caption id=“attachment_382718” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Free publicity for Samsung? But we make iPads. AP[/caption] Meanwhile in the US a judge has granted some relief to Apple by saying that the late Steve Jobs’ disparaging comments about going all thermonuclear on Google’s Android would not be part of the upcoming patent trial against Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. The trial in the US is scheduled to begin on 30 July. Apple has won pretrial injunctions against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the Galaxy Nexus phone. Apple says that Samsung slavishly copied the design of the iPad. In case of the Galaxy Nexus phone Apple, insists that the Nexus’ “Quick Search Box” which is able to search multiple sources through a single interface is like Apple’s Siri. The other three areas where Apple has accused Samsung of patent infringement are actionable linking, slide-to-unlock, and touch screen word suggestion. With inputs from Reuters