Apple Has To Advertise That Samsung's 'Not Cool' Tablet Is No iPad Copycat

from the wow dept

So even as Apple has been successful in getting a US court to rule against Samsung for having a tablet that Apple thinks looks too much like an iPad, things are shaping up very differently in the UK. We already noted that a judge over there had rejected Apple's claims in the UK, pointing out that Samsung's tablet just isn't as cool as the iPad (leaving Samsung in the awkward position of celebrating the fact that it won the lawsuit due to its own lack of coolness). However, now reports are coming out that the judge has also ordered Apple to advertise online and in print that Samsung didn't copy the iPad.

The judge apparently told Apple to put a notice on its own website and in UK newspapers telling people that Samsung's Galaxy Tab -- which Apple is clearly afraid of -- isn't a copy. As you might imagine, Apple is not happy about this -- though it might as well include the stuff about Samsung's lack of coolness, if it must discuss things. Either way, Apple is protesting. According to the Bloomberg report linked above:

The notice should outline the July 9 London court decision that Samsung’s Galaxy tablets don’t infringe Apple’s registered designs, Judge Colin Birss said. It should be posted on Apple’s U.K. website for six months and published in several newspapers and magazines to correct the damaging impression the South Korea-based company was copying Apple’s product, Birss said.

The order means Apple will have to publish “an advertisement” for Samsung, and is prejudicial to the company, Richard Hacon, a lawyer representing Cupertino, California-based Apple, told the court. “No company likes to refer to a rival on its website.”

While I agree that Apple's lawsuit was a bad idea in the first place, and that the company should just compete in the marketplace, I'm at a loss as to the "damaging impression" that this lawsuit would have for Samsung. As the judge himself noted, the iPad is seen as being really cool. And the Samsung tablet... is not. So, why would it damage Samsung's reputation to have Apple claiming that the devices were too much alike? If anything, it seems like it should help Samsung by advertising which tablet Apple thinks is most like an iPad.

Filed Under: advertising, ipad, not cool, patents, tablets, uk
Companies: apple, samsung