Last night Judge Colin Birss ordered Apple to buy advertisements in major UK newspapers acknowledging his 9 July ruling that Samsung did not infringe on Apple’s iPad design patents.
Bizarrely, part of Judge Birss’ reasoning was that the iPad is “cool” but Samsung tablets, while “very, very similar” when viewed from the front, “are not as cool”.
The acknowledgement of the ruling must be posted on Apple’s British website for six months and appear in the Daily Mail, the Financial Times and the Guardian, among other UK nationals.
We wait eagerly to see how Apple will handle the advertising obligation (assuming it doesn’t successfully appeal against the order). The company generally refrains from mentioning rivals by name in its adverts, but may choose to dwell cattishly on the “not as cool” aspect of the ruling.
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Author: David Price, Editor
David has loved the iPhone since covering the original 2007 launch; later his obsession expanded to include iPad and Apple Watch. He offers advice to owners (and prospective owners) of these devices.