Apple design is cooler; now say sorry!

Apple design is cooler; now say sorry!

During the ongoing patent battles between Samsung and Apple, a British judge has ruled against Apple, while giving them a compliment at the same time.

July 23, 2012 3:00 by Muhammad Aldalou

Ever since Apple initiated their lawsuit against Samsung for patent rights, the tech giants have been at each other’s throats as they swirled around in a fiery whirlpool of accusations, court cases and media attacks. Dramatic? Yeah we thought so too.

During one of their many court cases, Apple was ordered by a British judge to run advertisements saying that Samsung did nothing wrong in the patent copyright region nor did they copy any of their designs. The battle of the ongoing patent accusations does not look like it will meet its end just yet, as the case is set for appeal.

Although it seems that the penalty bestowed upon the US company is harsh; Judge Birss actually ruled for Samsung and declared that the Galaxy Tablets do not look “as cool” as the iPad! Apple made no comments on the judge’s ruling and it may be a while before we see any ads. After all, the US giant may need a little more than a backhanded compliment to throw in the towel.

The notice, which serves basically as an advertisement for Samsung, should remain on Apple’s website for at least six months, the report said. The judge, however, rejected Samsung’s request that Apple be forbidden from continuing to claim that its design rights had been infringed, saying that Apple was entitled to hold the opinion.

“Should Apple continue to make excessive legal claims based on such generic designs, innovation in the industry could be harmed and consumer choice unduly limited,” said a Samsung spokesperson.

Judges in various courts continue to label these patent suits as ridiculous as they continue to float without proper claim. The real question is, if the Galaxy Tab hadn’t been so successful at selling, would Apple have made these claims? Or is it as simple as ‘Apple does not believe Samsung designs can be successful and if they are, then something is wrong?”

In either case, posting this ‘apologetic’ ad on its website may prove to be a sticky decision for Apple, as they are still stuck in legal battles in several courts around the world. An apology or submission on its website in the UK may affect the ruling of cases in other courts as well; not to mention the public humiliation of admitting that after over a year of their time and effort, their accusations were dismissed like yesterday’s leftovers.

Poor Apple, no company likes to mention their rival, let alone be forced to promote them on their own website and admit that the design they suspected was theirs all along, is in fact of Samsung’s own creation.

Initiated by Apple in the US in April 2011, the dispute has spread to countries throughout Europe and Asia. In fact, it is scheduled to begin in Australia and is said to last for three months. It seems that Apple really, really wants to win. Their only silver lining is the anticipation of their iPhone 5; which is without a doubt one of the most waited for gadgets of the year.