British magistrates aren't amused with the blame-deflecting non-apology Apple posted on its U.K website after the company was ordered to say it was sorry to Samsung. Today, the U.K Court of Appeal told Apple to remove "untrue" and "incorrect" information from the apology within 24 hours as well as run the corrected missive in popular newspapers and magazines around the country.
“I’m at a loss that a company such as Apple would do this,” Judge Robin Jacob said during a hearing in London today, according to Bloomberg. “That is a plain breach of the order.”
The apology stems from a failed Apple attempt to sue Samsung for design patent infringement; British courts found that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 didn't ape Apple's iPad design and told Apple to post an apology saying as much on its website, ostensibly to clear up customer confusion. The company did so, but also added information from other court findings around the world that found Samsung guilty of infringing on the same patent. Apple also picked out choice quotes from the initial ruling that cast Samsung in a poor light. That invariably muddied the apology's purpose and painted the British court as out of touch.
Apple's lawyers asked for a 14-day window to alter the apology, citing technical difficulties, which Judge Jacob judiciously slapped down. "This is Apple. They cannot put something on their website?” he asked, saying that he'd love to see "the head of Apple make an affidavit setting out the technical difficulties" in quickly changing words on a web page.
An American jury also found that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 does not infringe an Apple design patent, despite awarding Apple a $1.05 billion judgement overall in a complex, multi-product case.
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