As a result of the U.K. court ruling, Apple has made the first notice of "Samsung didn't copy iPad" – forced by the verdict. Written in Arial, the notice is somewhat long and covers patents rather than devices. Written in a highly formal way, it’s obvious that the note is crafted by Apple's lawyers. The German court ruling, which did find Samsung violated Apple's design, and a, billion dollar win over Samsung in U.S courts is also mentioned in the notice.
Not being sure on how long the notice will remain live at apple.com/uk, here’s the complete text:
Samsung / Apple UK judgment
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.
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