Apple found in breach of court order over Samsung apology statement

According to the UK Court of Appeal, Apple has failed to comply with a court order issued in July in relation to its iPad design patent dispute with Samsung.

Following Judge Colin Birss's ruling in the UK courts - a ruling which stated that Samsung's Galaxy Tab line did not infringe Apple's design patents - Apple was ordered to post a notice on its site absolving its rival of any guilt in the matter.

After the UK Court of Appeal upheld Judge Birss's original decision a few weeks ago, Apple was instructed to run the apology ad by the appeal court.

When the apology notice from Apple finally went up last week, we commented on its less-than-contrite tone and the inclusion of details regarding other patent dispute cases against Sammy, both of which the Galaxy S III maker had lost.

Well, it seems as though the UK Court of Appeal didn't think much of Apple's 'apology', and has reprimanded The Big A for its controversial choice of words and deemed Apple's acknowledgement note to be "non-compliant".

According to Darren Smyth of EIP Partners, "The objection was that Apple had added to the statement that the Court of Appeal had ordered, so did not comply with the original order, and furthermore that the additions were not accurate."

The UK Court of Appeal also deemed the notice's location (hidden behind a small hyperlink at the very bottom of Apple's home page) to be unsatisfactory, and has insisted that an amended statement be posted on the site's front page in at least 11-point font within 48 hours.

Though Apple has not commented on the latest judgement, the iPad manufacturer has apparently claimed that it would take a minimum of 14 days to amend the notice. One of the judges at the UK Court of Appeal said he "cannot believe" [it would take that long to modify and replace].