Court Orders Apple to Publish Ad, Acknowledge Samsung Didn’t Copy Ipad

In a ruling by a UK judge, Apple is ordered to post a notice on its UK website and in British newspapers and inform people that Samsung did not infringe the design of its iPad tablet.

According to the court orders, Apple is bound to display this notice on its website for six months and it should be circulated throughout the country in various British magazines and newspapers.

The notices that will be displayed in the publications include Daily Mail, Guardian Mobile, T3, and Financial Times. Apple will pay for the advertisement costs.

According to Judge Colin Birss, the notice must mention July 9 ruling in which Apple’s lawsuit was dismissed by him. In that decision, he specifically ruled that Apple’s design was not copied by Samsung in its Galaxy tablets. The judge ironically said that Samsung’s designs are not as “cool” as Apple’s iPad.

“[The Galaxy tablets] do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design. They are not as cool,” Birss said.

Following the court’s order, Apple will have to run an advertisement campaign for Samsung in the UK, which will eventually be revolting for the company. “No company likes to refer to a rival on its website,” Apple lawyer Richard Hacon told the court.

Samsung welcomes the court’s decision. “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,” a Samsung spokesperson was reported to have said following the decision.

Both the tech giants have been in legal wars in more than a dozen countries across the world. Similar disputes are still in pending mode in U.S, the Netherlands and Germany.

Apple representative Alan Heln refused to comment on the recent development in the case.