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November 1, 2012

Apple slapped down over Samsung infringement statement

Judge orders company to rewrite statement confirming Samsung did not copy iPad design

By Steve Evans


Apple has been ordered to amend the notice it put on its website earlier this week following its courtroom defeat to Samsung.

The gadget maker was forced to run a statement on its website pointing out that Samsung "did not copy" Apple’s iPad designs for its Galaxy tablet.

However, what appeared on Apple’s website was not to the court’s liking. The statement detailed all the positive comments made by the judge about the iPad’s design before referencing geographies where the courts had ruled in Apple’s favour.

The final paragraph of the statement read: "However, in a case tried in Germany regarding the same patent, the court found that Samsung engaged in unfair competition by copying the iPad design. A U.S. jury also found Samsung guilty of infringing on Apple’s design and utility patents, awarding over one billion U.S. dollars in damages to Apple Inc. So while the U.K. court did not find Samsung guilty of infringement, other courts have recognised that in the course of creating its Galaxy tablet, Samsung willfully [sic] copied Apple’s far more popular iPad."

Now the judge in the case has decided the statement does not meet the requirements set out in the original ruling. The company has been ordered to put a new statement on its website and ensure that it features much more prominently. The current statement is only accessible via a small text link at the bottom of the homepage.

"I’m at a loss that a company such as Apple would do this," Judge Robin Jacob said, according to Bloomberg. "That is a plain breach of the order.

Apple’s lawyers then asked for 14 days to comply with the new ruling, which was laughed out of court by the judge. "I would like to see the head of Apple make an affidavit setting out the technical difficulties which means Apple can’t put this on their site," Jacob said. "I just can’t believe the instructions you’ve been given. This is Apple. They cannot put something on their website?"

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