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Did Apple Doctor Evidence in Samsung Lawsuit?

By Cynthia Hsu, Esq. on August 29, 2011 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

If you look at models of the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the Apple iPad side-by-side, it's not difficult to tell which tablet is which. That is, unless you're looking at the photos of the two models submitted by Apple in the European Galaxy Tab lawsuit.

The submitted photos make the two models look suspiciously similar.

And, the photos have researchers crying foul over the evidence. After all, the iPad and the Galaxy Tab have different dimensions. By sheer nature of geometry they shouldn't appear so similar in photographs.

The Galaxy Tab's dimensions are 256.7 x 175.3 mm, so it has an aspect ratio of 1.46. The iPad has an aspect ratio of 1.30. All of this technical and spatial mumbo jumbo can really be boiled down to this one picture:

Photo Credit: ZDNet

The submitted photo actually makes the Galaxy Tab look like it has a 1.36 aspect ratio, which it doesn't have, according to ZDNet.

The evidence was submitted in Apple's long-running suit to keep the Samsung Galaxy Tab off shelves in the European market. Apple originally scored a big win with an injunction against Samsung in all European Union countries. Their win was then pared down significantly when the ban was lifted in all countries except Germany.

Apple and Samsung are both due back in court on August 25th, according to Mobile Burn.

So, did Apple doctor evidence in the European Galaxy Tab lawsuit? If they did, they may face sanctions or lose their case. But most experts are unclear as to whether the photo modification was intentional or not. 

Those worried that Apple's "photos" improperly influenced the judge shouldn't fret - the judge commented that he handled the two models personally and did not solely rely on the photo evidence, according to ZDNet.

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