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Apple rewrites court-ordered Samsung apology, but keeps it hidden from view

Only sorry it got caught

Apple rewrites court-ordered Samsung apology, but keeps it hidden from view
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Back in July, a UK court ruled that Samsung's fleet of Galaxy Tabs did not infringe the iPad's design patents. Judge Colin Birss ordered Apple to publish a notice on its UK website, explaining the outcome of the case.

Apple finally did so in October under instruction by the UK Court of Appeal, who upheld Judge Birss's original ruling that Samsung wasn't guilty of patent infringement.

The problem was that The Big A hid the link to the apology notice at the bottom of its UK home page, highlighted the judge's comment that Galaxy tablets "are not as cool" as the iPad, and pointed to two successful legal battles - in the US and Germany - against the Galaxy Tab.

The UK Court of Appeal was not happy. It ordered Apple to try again, this time with an announcement that complied with the original order, and with a more visible link in at least 11-point font.

Sorry seems to be the hardest word

Apple did finally give in. Here's the company's amended notice:

On 9 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 Community registered design No. 0000181607–0001. A copy of the full judgment of the High Court is available [here] That Judgment has effect throughout the European Union and was upheld by the Court of Appeal of England and Wales on 18 October 2012. A copy of the Court of Appeal's judgment is available [here]. There is no injunction in respect of the Community registered design in force anywhere in Europe. Code of dishonour

Not one to give up easily, Apple reportedly made a cheeky change to its home page to ensure that the notice stays hidden.

Users at Reddit found that Apple is employing a clever bit of JavaScript that checks your screen resolution and automatically reorders the page so the apology notice is pushed off the screen and only appears when you scroll down.

Pretty sneaky, sis.

Apple homepage
Even on an iPad in portrait mode, the notice is pushed below the fold
Mark Brown
Mark Brown
Mark Brown is editor at large of Pocket Gamer