Apple’s chalked up some big victories against Samsung in recent weeks, culminating in a preliminary injunction that got the Galaxy Tab 10.1 banned throughout the EU. But did Apple do so based upon false evidence? That’s what one Dutch website is alleging, and we’ve got to admit, their argument’s pretty good.
See the image above? The side-by-side comparison of the iPad 2 and Galaxy Tab 10,1 at the bottom is the exact comparison shot used by Apple to prove in official court documents that the Galaxy Tab 10,1 is “practically identical” to Apple’s tablet.
The only problem? That’s not what the Galaxy Tab 10,1 even looks like. The Galaxy Tab 10,1 has a 1.46 aspect ratio. In Apple’s comparison image, though, has a 1.36 aspect ratio compared to the iPad 2’s 1.30. The tablet’s proper proportions have been deformed.
If you actually look at the image, the Galaxy Tab’s icons are warped too, so this seems like an honest mistake by some paralegal resizing an image.
Even so, though, it raises the question about whether or not the injunction against Samsung should even have been granted. As TechCrunch notes:
The current import ban on the GalTab is entirely related to design, so the court is truly judging these books by their covers. Presenting evidence that falsely represents the appearance of a product — especially when the appearance of the product is the only thing in question — is incredibly suspect to say the least. Let’s add to that the fact that Apple had some serious alone time with the judge when presenting this evidence. Meanwhile, Samsung didn’t even have the opportunity to dispute the image.
German courts are notoriously pro-patent, but they also frown upon falsified evidence. At the very least, it seems like any injunction against Samsung based upon this evidence should be appealed.