London ( Financial Times ) -- Samsung successfully fended off a legal move by Apple to block the sale of its tablet computers in the UK but only after suffering the indignity of a judge ruling that its Galaxy Tabs were `` not cool '' enough to be mistaken for iPads . Apple had claimed three models of the Galaxy Tab too closely resembled the design of the iPad . But Judge Colin Birss ruled that there were noticeable differences between the tablets in terms of their thickness and the designs on the back . `` They do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design , '' the judge said of the Samsung gadgets . `` They are not as cool . '' The ruling is the latest skirmish in a global patent battle that Apple has been waging since 2010 against companies like Samsung and HTC which produce tablet computers and mobile phones using Google 's Android operating system . Such devices are the biggest commercial threat to Apple , and rivals have accused the US company of using its patents aggressively to disrupt their sales . Last month Apple persuaded a San Jose court to put a temporary block on sales of Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets in the US , pending a full court trial over patent claims at the end of July . Last week an appeals court lifted the ban on smartphone sales while upholding the block on sales of the tablet . Apple shipped 11.8m iPads during the first three months of the year , giving it a worldwide market share of 68 per cent , according to IDC , the technology research company . Samsung devices have started to gain traction , however , taking the South Korean company to second place in global market share in the first quarter . Despite the legal wrangling , Samsung reported record operating profits last week , largely on the back of sales of its Galaxy smartphones . The company has said it expects to have sold more than 10m units of its latest smartphone , the Galaxy SIII , by July . Apple has been given 21 days to appeal against the UK ruling . It said : `` It 's no coincidence that Samsung 's latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad , from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging . This kind of blatant copying is wrong and , as we 've said many times before , we need to protect Apple 's intellectual property when companies steal our ideas . '' Samsung welcomed the ruling and said : `` 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 . '' © The Financial Times Limited 2012 .
UK judge rules Galaxy Tabs `` not cool '' enough to be mistaken for iPads . Apple claimed three models were too similar to its iPad design . Apple has 21 days to appeal against the UK ruling . Rivals access Apple of using its patents aggressively to disrupt sales .