Judge rules that Samsung tablet is 'not as cool' as iPad

LONDON - A patent case between Apple and Samsung gets a surprising, and controversial ruling.

A British judge overseeing a lawsuit in London between Apple's iPad and Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 ruled that shoppers would never confuse the two tablets because Samsung tablets "are not as cool."

Judge Colin Birss dismissed Apple's claims of patent infringement against Samsung because the Galaxy tablets "do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design," according to a report from Bloomberg. Therefore, the judge ruled that the tablets are distinctly different from one another, and consumers aren't likely to get them mixed up.

Samsung said the judge's decision confirms its position that the Galaxy tablet isn't a copy of Apple’s iPad design. So it seems like the ruling from Judge Birss is what Samsung was hoping for, although it's not likely that any company hopes to be called "uncool" in court.

Besides the British battle with Samsung, Apple is fighting patent lawsuits around the world right now. The iPad maker is involved in lawsuits with the HTC company and Samsung as the tablet computer market becomes a major battleground for the tech industry. All of those companies have accused each other of copying designs and technology in a range of devices from smartphones to tablet computers.