In the latest verdict in a long line of patent disputes between the two technology giants, a UK judge has sided in favour of Samsung in an ongoing case over design patents relating to the iPad. With it, Apple will be ordered to run advertisements in British newspapers and magazines, as well as its website, stating that Samsung did not infringe Apple’s design patents.

The toing-and-froing of lawsuits and patent disputes between Apple and Samsung, we’ll admit, is beginning to grate. Verdicts have been swiftly followed up with appeals and counter-appeals, as the rift between the two becomes ever larger.

But the latest ruling by a UK High Court is one of the more severe, yet bizarre, ‘punishments’ handed down by a judge – not counting the $1.05 billion Samsung was ordered to pay Apple for damages – effectively demanding the iPad maker holds it hands up and admit defeat, while also giving Samsung some welcome free publicity. It’ll go some way, it was argued, to “correct the damaging impression” left by Apple on its rival.

Following on from a case in July in which Judge Colin Birss agreed Samsung had not, as it had been argued, ‘slavishly’ copied from the design of the iPad, the latest verdict came in response to Apple’s appeal of that particular court appearance.

Samsung welcomed the decision, saying in a statement it “reaffirmed our position that our Galaxy Tab products do not infringe Apple’s registered design right. We continue to believe that Apple was not the first to design a tablet with a rectangular shape and rounded corners. 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.”

Richard Birkett