UK judge ruled on Monday, July 9, that Samsung tablets do not infringe on a registered Apple design simply because "they are not as cool," and the Galaxy tablets "do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by Apple design."
Samsung had sought to obtain a declaration that three of its tablets - the Galaxy Tab 10.1, Galaxy Tab 8.9 and Galaxy Tab 7.7 - do not infringe on Apple's registered design detailing the shape of its popular iPad. According to Judge Colin Birss' ruling, Samsung's tablets and Apple's iPad should be seen as members of the same family, not the same devices.
"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," said the judge. "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," Birss concluded.
"When I first saw the Samsung products in this case I was struck by how similar they look to the Apple design when they are resting on a table. They look similar because they both have the same front screen. It stands out," noted the judge. "They are not identical to each other, but they form a family."
Samsung's Galaxy tablets use the same screen with a flat glass plate and a thin, subtle rim with a plain border under that glass, which make them very similar to Apple's design. Also, there are no buttons on the front, no indicators and no obvious switches or fittings on the other surfaces in neither Apple's nor Samsung's design, noted the judge. Samsung does use some subtle buttons on the edges, but they do not affect the overall design impression.
"There is an overall simplicity about the Samsung devices albeit not as extreme as the simplicity of the Apple design," Birss explained. The judge also added that while both Apple's and Galaxy's designs give the impression that the tablets float above the surface on which they rest, the details on the side edges differ. Apple's design, for instance, has a pronounced flat side face that the Samsung tablets do not have.
Moreover, there are two major differences between Apple's and Samsung's tablets, the judge found. "The most important difference between the Samsung Galaxy tablets and the Apple design is the thinness of the Galaxy tablets," wrote Birss. "The next most significant difference is the detailing on the back of each tablet."
Consequently, the judge only pondered whether the Galaxy Tab 7.7 infringed Apple's design, because that tablet has the least visual differentiating detailing. If the Galaxy Tab 7.7 does not infringe, neither does that Galaxy Tab 10.1 or the Galaxy Tab 8.9, both of which use more prominent detailing on the back.
