UK court upholds Apple v Samsung design ruling

The Court of Appeal in London has reconfirmed that three of Samsung’s tablets do not infringe a European design right for Apple’s iPad.

Three judges dismissed an appeal against a High Court ruling from July this year. In that case, Judge Colin Birss rejected claims that Samsung’s Galaxy 10.1, 8.9 and 7.7 devices violated a Community design for the iPad because the tablets are not as “cool”.

In the ruling on October 18, the judges also agreed with Birss that Apple must place a notice on its UK website and publish adverts in British national newspapers clarifying that Samsung’s products are non-infringing. The website notice must incorporate a link to the latest ruling until November.

Sir Robin Jacob, writing the judgment on behalf of the court, said the dispute was “not about whether Samsung copied Apple’s iPad” but “whether the accused design is too close to the registered design according to the tests laid down in the law”. “The registered design is not the same as the design of the iPad,” he said.

Jacob said the court must assess the designs from the perspective of the “informed user”. Analysing Apple’s claims, he said the registered design has a 90-degree edge that gives it a “sharp outline” and that Samsung’s products “are very different in relation to this and the sides generally”.

He added: “Overall I cannot begin to see any material error by the judge ... If the registered design has a scope as wide as Apple contends it would foreclose much of the market for tablet computers.”

Turning to the notice and adverts, Jacob said the German Court of Appeal’s granting of a European-wide injunction (in July) against Samsung’s Galaxy 7.7 tablet—for infringing Apple’s design rights—could confuse consumers. As a result, he said, Apple should clarify that it had lost its appeal in the UK. “The acknowledgement must come from the horse’s mouth.”

But in order not to “clutter” Apple’s homepage, Jacob said Apple must only add a link to the latest ruling and retain it for one month.

The High Court in London that heard the original case was sitting as a Community court because the disputed right is a Community design, which is valid throughout the EU. That means this decision is binding throughout Europe. Apple can appeal to the UK Supreme Court. Whether the Community design is valid is a separate question that the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) is considering at the moment.

Colin Fowler, a lawyer at Rouse, said that because the original decision was the first ruling on the infringement of this design in the EU, the latest decision confirms that Apple must find other weapons in its IP armoury to beat Samsung in Europe. But he added that because the companies are locked in numerous battles over IP rights such as patents, “the war is not over”.