Lately, we’ve been hearing a lot of good news from the courts of United Kingdom. Today, the high court ruled in favor of Samsung in the case vs. Apple about the design of the Galaxy Tab 10.1. In fact, the judge even said there are noticeable differences between the two devices. The Judge stated that Samsung’s designs “not as cool” as the iPad and wouldn’t have any problems getting confused with Apple’s.  He also said the Galaxy Tabs ”do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design.”  The court went on to use prior concept art dating back to before 2004 which used the same design as the iPad, therefore leaving Apple’s design appearing to be more copied than Samsung’s from the start. Samsung released a statement to British Tech Site, Pocket-Lint about their triumph over Apple:

“Samsung had requested this voluntary trial in September 2011, in order to oppose Apple’s ongoing efforts to reduce consumer choice and innovation in the tablet market through their excessive legal claims and arguments. Apple has insisted that the three Samsung tablet products infringe several features of Apple’s design right, such as ‘slightly rounded corners,’ ‘a flat transparent surface without any ornamentation,’ and ‘a thin profile.’

“However, the High Court dismissed Apple’s arguments by referring to approximately 50 examples of prior art, or designs that were previously created or patented, from before 2004. These include the Knight Ridder (1994), the Ozolin (2004), and HP’s TC1000 (2003). The court found numerous Apple design features to lack originality, and numerous identical design features to have been visible in a wide range of earlier tablet designs from before 2004.”

This comes as a huge relief to Android fans around the world. For once, the courts have been tipped in our favor. Perhaps a certain judge in the states should look into the rulings made the UK.

Phandroid via Engadget