I went to the Court of Appeal this morning for the handing down of the decision in Samsung v Apple – which could be the last word in the dispute between the parties, insofar as it relates to the design of tablet computers within the EU.<\/p>\n
The decision itself is now available electronically here<\/a>.<\/p>\n I sent an immediate comment on the piece to the IPKat, which you can see here<\/a>.<\/p>\n What was new for me, however, was getting talking to a Reuters reporter,\u00a0Stephen Eisenhammer, who then rang me later to discuss the case. \u00a0As a result I have been extensively quoted. \u00a0The original Reuters piece says:<\/p>\n “I expect this will be the end of the line. An appeal to the Supreme Court is in principle possible but there has been no indication so far that Apple plan such an appeal”, Darren Smyth partner at EIP, a specialist intellectual property law firm, told Reuters.<\/p>\n “For the design of tablets in Europe this should be the final word.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n (You can see the full article here<\/a>).<\/p>\n This has now been extensively picked up by publications around the world, and I have seen it translated into Spanish, Portuguese, and German.<\/p>\n I have just got off the phone to Dow Jones, so will be interesting to see where it leads…<\/p>\n The original decision stands (Samsung does not infringe Apple’s Community Registered Design). \u00a0This decision applies throughout the EU, not just in the UK. \u00a0Apple have to publish the decision\u00a0in three national newspapers, the Financial Times, the Daily Mail and The Guardian, and in two trade magazines, Mobile Magazine and T3 magazine, in the following terms:<\/p>\n On 9th July 2012 the High Court of Justice of England and Wales ruled that Samsung Electronic (UK) Limited’s Galaxy Tablet Computers, namely the Galaxy Tab 10.1, Tab 8.9 and Tab 7.7 do not infringe Apple’s registered design No. 0000181607-0001. A copy of the full judgment of the High court is available on the following link [link given].<\/p>\n That Judgment has effect throughout the European Union and was upheld by the Court of Appeal on \u2026.. A copy of the Court of Appeal’s judgment is available on the following link [\u2026]. There is no injunction in respect of the registered design in force anywhere in Europe.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n This must be published\u00a0in a font size no smaller than Arial 14pt and appear on a page earlier than page 6. \u00a0And a link to this must appear on Apple’s homepage.<\/p>\n And unless there is an appeal to the\u00a0Supreme\u00a0Court (who are not obliged to hear any appeal), then this seems to be the end of the line for the design dispute on tablets in Europe for these parties.<\/p>\n UPDATE at 6.30pm:<\/p>\n