Apple lost its patent case against Samsung in London's Court of Appeal this morning after a judge ruled that the Galaxy tablet does not copy the iPad's design.
The court upheld a previous decision that said Samsung's Galaxy tablet did not infringe upon Apple's patents. It said there were similarities between the two devices but that Samsung had not infringed Apple's design, in part because its products were "not as cool".

The US company was instructed to run newspaper and online adverts admitting that the Korean company did not copy the iPad. The judge said these notices must be in a font size no smaller than Arial 14.

Apple had argued that, in finding Samsung had not infringed its design, the trial judge had place too much emphasis on differences between the design of the back of Galaxy Tab range and the back of the iPad.

Whereas the back of the iPad is almost featureless, Galaxy Tabs have a separate, different coloured section along one edge that contains the camera and flash. The trial judge found these “unusual details” would mean people would not confuse the designs and that Apple’s minimalist design was “cooler”.

Apple could now take its appeal to the Supreme Court.
The two technology giants are currently battling each other in a series of patent lawsuits around the world, including a case revolving around mobile phones in the US. The British case is part of a complex global battle that pits Apple against Samsung in intellectual property courts in Europe, the US, South Korea and Australia.

Apple believes its main rival "slavishly" ripped off designs and technologies from both the iPad and iPhone in its Android smartphones and tablets and scored the biggest victory so far with a £664m damages award in California.

Apple is expected to launch a new iPad mini later this month, including a 7.85in screen. The company has sent out media invitations to an event on October 23 which is widely thought to be the product's launch .
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