Back in July, UK Judge Colin Birss ruled that the Samsung Galaxy Tab didn’t infringe on the Apple iPad design, saying the Galaxy Tab was “not as cool” as the iPad. He then ruled that Apple must post ads on its website and in UK publications admitting that Samsung didn’t copy the iPad design.
The US firm had previously been ordered to place a notice to that effect – with a link to the original judgement – on its website and place other adverts in the Daily Mail, Financial Times, T3 Magazine and other publications to “correct the damaging impression” that Samsung was a copycat.
Apple had quickly appealed the ruling and was granted a stay until the appeal could be heard. Now, Apple has lost that appeal, and will be required to publish the public acknowledgements.
The appeal judges based their decision not to overturn the original ruling on the basis that a related design-infringement battle in the German courts risked causing confusion in the minds of consumers.
“The acknowledgment must come from the horse’s mouth,” they said. “Nothing short of that will be sure to do the job completely.”
The judges said Apple could satisfy the requirement for posting on its own website by including a small link entitled: “Samsung/Apple judgement” on the site for one month.
While Apple can appeal to the UK Supreme Court in an effort to have the publishing requirement overturned, the company has given no indication of planning such an appeal.
