Another day, another public humiliation. At least that’s what UK judges have in mind for Apple. After losing a legal claim against Samsung, a London judge ruled that Apple must “correct the damaging impression” caused by their “copycat” claims. The ruling forces Apple to publicly announce — both on their website and with adverts in publications such as the Daily Mail, Financial Times and T3 Magazine — that Samsung had not infringed on its design rights. Apple appealed this decision, of course. However, the judgement stands and the public humiliation must commence as an appeals judge has decided not to overturn the decision.

“The acknowledgment must come from the horse’s mouth,” they said. “Nothing short of that will be sure to do the job completely.”

It wasn’t a complete loss for Apple as the appeals judge ruled that there was no need for Apple to have to clutter its home page with a large acknowledgment. Instead, a simple link entitled “Samsung/Apple judgement” would suffice.

Samsung reacted to the decision by once again firing at Apple for its attempt to stifle innovation:

“We continue to believe that Apple was not the first to design a tablet with a rectangular shape and rounded corners and that the origins of Apple’s registered design features can be found in numerous examples of prior art.

“Should Apple continue to make excessive legal claims in other countries based on such generic designs, innovation in the industry could be harmed and consumer choice unduly limited.”

These legal battles have weaved a weird web of outcomes for both Apple and Samsung. While one court rules in favor of Apple, another rules in favor of Samsung. This global game of “Who’s on first” has everyone confused.

One thing is for sure, something needs to be done and I’m not so sure it’s this.

• ViaBBC