U.K. judge: Samsung tablet not "cool" enough to be confused with iPad

In this Aug. 25, 2011 file photo a lawyer holds an Apple iPad and a Samsung Tablet-PC at a court in Duesseldorf, Germany. A Duesseldorf state court said Friday, Sept. 9, 2011, it would not allow Samsung, based in Seoul, South Korea, to market its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany because it too closely resembles the iPad2.

/ Sascha Schuermann

(CBS News) Samsung has learned that being uncool can actually get you out of a legal battle against Apple - in the U.K, at least.

In a ruling by Judge Colin Birss, the U.K. high courts has favored South Korean electronics giant Samsung in a patent infringement lawsuit because its Galaxy Tab 10.1 is "not as cool" as an Apple iPad.

According to the Guardian, Judge Birss said of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1: "They do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design. They are not as cool. The overall impression produced is different."

The ruling means that Samsung can continue to sell the Galaxy Tab in the U.K. Apple has 21 days to appeal the decision.

Samsung and Apple are in a high-stakes intellectual property battle that spans multiple continents. In 2011, Apple won a preliminary injunction in Germany, temporarily halting the sales of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. Similar lawsuits have been filed in Europe, Australia and Asia.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 banned in Germany thanks to Apple
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 pulled in Europe after Apple files suit
Samsung Galaxy Tab delayed in Australia because of iPad patent
Apple wins injunction against Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

Apple recently won a temporary injunction against Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the U.S. - banning the sale of the tablet until the case is decided.

"Samsung welcomes today's judgment, which affirms our position that our Galaxy Tab products do not infringe Apple's registered design right," the company said in a statement given to the Guardian. "As the ruling proves, the origins of Apple's registered design features can be found in numerous examples of prior art."

Apple declined to comment on the current case, but reiterated a previous statement: "It's no coincidence that Samsung's latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging. This kind of blatant copying is wrong and, as we've said many times before, we need to protect Apple's intellectual property when companies steal our ideas."

[woodyarobinson]

Let me know you silly Americans, and I'll send you a Samsung tablet from here, my tiny third world country, or better yet, I'll bring you my Asus Eee pc transformer which I enjoy so much more than my Ipad.

[p_syrus]

Dump IP patents.

They were created at the behest of major corporations as a gross intrusion into the rights of individuals. Patent devices, not thought.

[ralphing]

Yeah, the plain back of the iPad is so much cooler then the plain back of the Samsung tablet. The only time I ever looked at the back of my phone, tablet or laptop, is to see if it is scratched. The iPad is the least functional tablet out of every other tablet on the market. Apple cuts out 50% of the features that all other tablets come with. They then add the missing features not to the that particular tablet, but a new tablet where they have leagues of unsophisticated rubes who will ditch their old tablet to get the new one with features the old one should have had. Meanwhile, all other tablet owners of different make tablets, are being more productive and having 50% more fun.

Hardly identical tablets.

[hypnotoad72]

The judge also missed out on something - if Android is oh-so-unsophisticated, explain this:

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/214268/20110915/top-10-android-features-ios-5-impersonated-apple-iphone-5-ipad-ipad-2-iphone-3gs-iphone-4-ipod-touch.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW0DUg63lqU

http://forums.appleinsider.com/t/134422/steve-jobs-vowed-to-destroy-google-android-called-it-a-stolen-product/120

The same company patented the digital version of a slide lock for crying out loud. Apple, in patenting the work someone else created and then made an analogue of, is who is stealing. Sorry.

http://www.styleite.com/media/steve-jobs-photo-shoots/

http://www.cultofmac.com/2613/steve-jobs-still-parking-in-handicapped-spaces-the-pictures/

http://thednetworks.com/2011/10/06/steve-was-employee-zero-used-to-park-his-mercedes-in-handicapped-parking-and-some-more-less-know-facts-about-steve-jobs/

I could cite a zillion sources but most people know the man was an insecure, childish diva who exploited everyone he could. Look up the issues at Foxconn for more... but, hey, Foxconn helped him go from a 40% profit margin to 60% or more. Why should he care?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/04/apple-dc-lobbying-efforts-get-fierce_n_818874.html
(and given the corporate welfare they take, since our country can't afford anything anymore, but before I digress...)

He's no hero.

To anybody.

He was just another leech, and a massively whiny one at that.

[hypnotoad72]

Apple is patenting the making of a mousetrap and suing the guts out of anyone else who builds one.

Ironic, since all their stuff is made from off-the-shelf commodity hardware...

Apple's previous CEO is on record being very angry over how he hates competition, how he steals ideas, etc... funny how the judges ignore all sorts of things to protect the patent of a square that the "2001 A Space Odyssey" and "Star Trek" people should have patented if they thought about it, but we lived in more civilized times 44 years ago...