The legal battle between Apple and Samsung sometimes gets quite ridiculous. For instance, when it comes to tablet design, both companies are embroiled in petty details which are quite subjective and thus, there is no definite end to this war. Now, a judge in UK has ruled that since Samsung’s tablet are not as cool as Apple’s tablets in design, there is no patent infringement.
Even this praise for Apple by the judge may be very welcome by Samsung since it exonerates the company of having infringed any design-related patents. The following verdict was given by UK High Court judge Colin Birss.
According to Birss, “From the front they belong to the family which includes the Apple design; but the Samsung products are very thin, almost insubstantial members of that family with unusual details on the back. 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. Conclusion: the Samsung tablets do not infringe Apple’s registered design No. 000181607-0001.”
Naturally, all that sounds quite comical. To think that both companies are doling out millions to fight off this rather ridiculous patent war is quite baffling.
Further legal analysis of the whole issue reveals such ‘insights’: “Most of the corners and edges of the Apple design are rounded but this edge is relatively sharp. There was a suggestion that this crisp edge plays a part in the enhancement of the appearance of thinness. I do not accept that. The impression of thinness is enhanced by the curve at the back, not by the crisp edge at the front.”
Source: Bailii
Courtesy: GigaOm
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