Samsung wins UK patent case, because the Tab is ‘not as cool’ as the iPad

It’s official, a UK judge said so: the Galaxy Tab is not as “cool” as the iPad. In case you haven’t been keeping up with Apple’s endless legal battles, the company accused Samsung of infringing on its tablet design patents. But they seem to have lost the case (at least for now) — Judge Colin Birss basically confirmed what anyone who has ever seen a Galaxy Tab and an iPad can attest to; the two don’t look exactly alike.

According to Bloomberg, when Birss announced his verdict in London, he said that the Galaxy Tabs “do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design. They are not as cool.” Ouch. He admitted that there were some similarities, but the two products were still easy to tell apart, especially from the back — Samsung’s tablet has what he called “unusual details”. The ruling applies to Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 7.7, 10.1 and 8.9.

The judge has given Apple 21 days to appeal the ruling, so it may not all be over just yet. The tech giant has had better luck in the US — it was granted an injunction against the sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the country until the patent trial begins there later this month. Apple definitely doesn’t mind fighting against what it sees as infringements on its intellectual property — it has also recently accused Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus of violating its patents and went after the owners of iPad3.com. At this rate, it may end up spending more than last year’s US$100-million on legal fees.