I’m sure most know that Apple was dragged to court in Australia by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for advertising the new iPad with WiFi + 4G, even though the latest iOS slate didn’t work on on any of Australia’s LTE networks, and that particular case has now been concluded with Apple losing.

According to the guys over at Slash Gear by way of the Sydney Morning Herald, Apple has been fined a cool AUD $2.55 million, roughly 2.8 million bucks US, along with $300,000 court costs for running misleading adverts on its new iPad.

Rod Sims, the chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission stated that the fines send a message that marketing materials must follow local consumer law to global companies with operations in Australia, and went on to say, ‘‘It is a big enough fine for Apple to have their reputation affected. Whether it is $2 million or $20 million, I think the damage and the message it sends are similar.’’

Justice Mordecai Bromberg of the Federal Court in Victoria said, “Apple’s desire for global uniformity was given a greater priority than the need to ensure compliance with the Australian Consumer Law.”

The Judge also apparently agreed with the $2.25 million fine because Apple was unlikely to repeat such an error, and that there is no evidence of damage or loss as Apple offered a refund and only a small percentage of customers returned their iPad.

So a small loss for Apple, and a fine that will hardly put a dent in the Apple coffers, but it does go to show that Apple can’t get away with everything, no matter how much they’d like to.