U.K. Judge says Samsung’s Galaxy Tab doesn’t infringe Apple’s iPad

It looks like Apple’s isn’t so lucky in U.K. That’s because the Cupertino-based tech giant has just lost a legal battle with Samsung after a U.K. judge said that its Galaxy tablets aren’t “cool enough” to be confused with Apple’s iPad. U.K. Judge Colin Birss believes that consumers aren’t likely to get the tablet computers mixed up. “The design for three Galaxy tablets doesn’t infringe Apple’s registered design. They do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by Apple’s iPad,” Judge Birss said.

Meanwhile, Apple spokesman Alan Hely said in a statement that it is no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad. “This kind of blatant copying is wrong and, as we’ve said many times before, we need to protect Apple’s intellectual property,” Hely retorted.

Samsung the replied saying, “Should Apple continue to make excessive legal claims in other countries based on such generic designs, innovation in the industry could be harmed and consumer choice unduly limited.” Samsung might have won the patent case in U.K., but it wasn’t so lucky in the U.S. Last week, we reported that the Court of Appeals has rejected the South Korean giant’s request to lift the sales ban on its Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Gene Ryan Briones
Categories: Apple, Tablets
Tags: galaxy tab, iPad, Samsung