A few months ago, a court in the UK ruled in favor of Samsung, saying the company didn’t infringe on Apple’s design patents. The judge also requested that Apple post an apology letter to Samsung on its website that publicly acknowledges that Samsung didn’t copy. In compliance with that Apple has posted a teeny, tiny link at the bottom of its UK website that brings you to an “apology” letter to Samsung.
So while Apple did comply with the ruling by posting this letter, it’s pretty safe to say that Apple isn’t sorry at all. The letter starts with some legal jargon explaining that the UK court didn’t find Samsung guilty of infringing on Apple’s patent. Apple then provides a few select statements from the judge comparing 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.”
The letter ends with Apple letting readers know that Samsung was found guilty in the same patent trial in other countries, like Germany and the U.S., which all ruled in Apple’s favor.
In other words, Apple is letting everyone know that the judge only thinks Samsung didn’t copy because their device isn’t “as cool” as Apple’s and everyone else still thinks Samsung copied anyway.
Image Credit: Otago Daily Times
