A United Kingdom court has ordered Apple (News - Alert), Incorporated to issue a formal apology on its website stating that Samsung was innocent on statements made by Apple stating that Samsung copy Cupertino when it developed their lines of Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets. On their website, Apple conceded that the High Court of Justice ruled that the Galaxy Tablet 10.1, Tablet 8.9 and Tablet 7.7 did not violate that patent Apple has for its iPad.

Even though there was an “apology” made on the Apple website, the company concentrated more on the high spots of the ruling, in which the judge touted Apple products and lashed out against Samsung (News - Alert) and its products. The judge wrote, “The extreme simplicity of the Apple design is striking. The Galaxy Tabs, though, do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design." Apple also made a point of stating that judges in Germany and the United States have ruled in their favor in similar cases against Samsung.

A copy of the judgment is available here.

Apple noted in their apology that “… while the U.K. court did not find Samsung guilty of infringement, other courts have recognized that in the course of creating its Galaxy tablet, Samsung willfully copied Apple’s far more popular iPad.” 

What they considered an apology could not be construed by many as such, considering that it highlights their own product’s superiority and notes that elsewhere in Europe, courts have not been as favorable towards what they consider an infringement. Whether or not a snarky apology will satisfy the order from the court or not is yet to be seen. Next time, the court should be a little more specific and mention that they are looking for an apology that has some semblance of sincerity. Sometimes, an apology is not always an apology.