This one’s gotta burn. Apple is taking to the courts around the world claiming that Samsung, Motorola, and others blatantly copied the iPad with their competing Android offerings. Apple has been dealt another strong blow today, just one day after a German court found that Motorola’s Xoom tablet did not violate Apple’s design patent. A United Kingdom court ordered Apple to provide a public statement on the company’s website as well as British newspapers and magazines telling customers that Samsung did not blatantly copy the iPad with its Galaxy Tab line of products. The statement must remain on Apple’s website for 6 months. Ouch.
The move follows Judge Colin Birss’ ruling earlier this month that the Samsung Galaxy Tab was not “as cool” as the iPad, adding that the Galaxy Tab line didn’t have the understated, extreme simplicity found in Apple’s iPad design. So not only is Apple not allowed to prevent the sales of the Galaxy Tab line in the UK nor are they going to receive monetary compensation for patent violations, they also have to publicly claim for 6 months that Samsung didn’t do anything wrong. That has to leave a pretty sour taste in Apple’s mouth, and perhaps sets the tone for legal battles to come.