Apple loses appeal, has to buy ads in Britain to apologize to Samsung
In the U.S., Samsung owes Apple more than $1 billion, but in Britain, Apple owes Samsung a public apology.
A British appeals court has decided not to overturn a ruling made earlier this year on a patent-infringement case involving the two tech companies, according to the BBC. Samsung won the case back in July after a judge said the two company’s tablet products weren’t likely to be confused because Samsung’s were not as “cool” as Apple’s.
The punishment for Apple was just as quirky as the reasoning behind the decision.
The judge ordered Apple to run ads in British newspapers apologizing and stating that Samsung’s products did not copy its own. Apple was also ordered to post a notice on its British website.
Following the appellate court decision Thursday, the punishment largely stands.
Apple will have to purchase print ads, and the company is required to use at least a 14 point Arial font on the text of the apology, according to The Next Web. On its website, though, Apple will only have to post a link titled “Samsung/Apple judgment” for a month.
Apple representatives had no immediate comment, but Samsung said if Apple continues making excessive legal claims, it will harm the industry’s innovation.
“We continue to believe that Apple was not the first to design a tablet with a rectangular shape and rounded corners and that the origins of Apple’s registered design features can be found in numerous examples of prior art,” the South Korean company said, according to the BBC.
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