The Apple v. Samsung Trial Continues, And John Quinn Keeps Taking Shots

What are the newest updates in Apple v. Samsung?

Last time we checked in at the Apple v. Samsung intellectual property trial, John Quinn was responding to heat from Judge Lucy Koh over allegations that he had authorized a press release with information that had been deemed inadmissible.

The case continued on Friday, and it has started back up again today as well. So, how did Judge Koh react to Quinn’s justification of his decision? And what dirt have the two tech giants continued slinging at each other? Well, let’s see….

First and foremost, Judge Koh said the whole PR boondoggle might result in court sanctions down the line, but she has decided not to deal with it for the time being. But because of both sides’ voluminous objections, she has imposed various objection limits on them.

In trial on Friday, Phil Schiller, an Apple senior VP, spent much of the day on the witness stand. He claimed Samsung had “ripped off” Apple’s design. He also accused Samsung of “stealing all the value we’ve created.”

Today, Samsung chief strategist Justin Denison and Apple design expert Peter Bressler have taken the stand. Designers, so far, have played a major role in testimony. If you want to follow along in real time, Howard Mintz at the Mercury News has the best live blog of the proceedings.

The WSJ describes Denison’s time on the stand:

Sponsored

Lawyers grilled a Samsung Electronics Co. strategy head for roughly an hour Monday as Apple continued its efforts to convince a jury that the Korean tech giant copied its designs.

Justin Denison, strategy head for Samsung Telecommunication of America, was peppered with questions about his company’s documents and emails—including translated messages between Samsung employees in which one says that there had been discussion about copying the iPhone. He didn’t directly address the contents of those messages, noting it was the first time he’d seen them.

So far, today seems to be largely technical discussions. CNET discusses Brassler’s testimony:

In a testimony today, Peter Bressler — a former president of the Industrial Designers Society and the founder and board chair of product design firm Bresslergroup — said numerous Samsung designs infringed on Apple’s patented designs.

“My opinion (is) that there are a number of Samsung phones and two Samsung tablets that are substantially the same as the design in those (Apple) patents,” Bressler said.

Like, very technical. A WSJ blogger wrote: “Court spending lots of time describing how to read a patent and how it applies to the #Apple iPhone. One person behind me already asleep.”

(UPDATED: 6:34 PM) QE attorney Charles Verhoeven, representing Samsung, has been pretty rough on Bressler this afternoon. Here are some of the highlights from the San Jose Mercury blog, in chronological order:

Sponsored

Hard to say what jury thinks right now, but Samsung’s Charles V. is pounding effectively at Bressler’s credibility, at least offering jurors a competing vision of how to evaluate his claims that Apple’s patents were infringed.…

Judge taking afternoon break. Bressler might go across the street and have a designer drink…

Samsung atty continues to play the same song with Bressler, trying to show distinctions between phones. Getting to be a Red Bull afternoon…

Bressler: “you’re asking me to compare peanut butter to turkey.”…

Well, Charles V. asks, which one (iPhone design or Samsung design) is peanut butter and which one is turkey…Bressler confesses he’s getting frustrated with Samsung’s line of questioning because he believe it distorts how you evaluate patent similarities…

Since the whole declaration snafu, we haven’t seen another major blowout involving John Quinn, but Judge Koh hasn’t exactly warmed up to him. Mintz describes the following exchange earlier this morning, during Denison’s testimony (FWIW, Koh has only been a federal judge for two years):

Denison’s reference to a “crisis of design” at Samsung opened the door for Apple atty to produce documents that link it to the emergence of the iPhone….Samsung’s Quinn flailing to keep it out, but Judge Koh lets it in…email goes up on the courtroom screen

Some of our readers seem to think Quinn is up the creek with no paddle. One person wrote in:

Where does the practice of law end and sheer underhandedness take over? Has John Quinn become the Minnesota Fats of dirty lawyering?

And another tipster sent:

John Quinn may need to start worrying about the California State Bar.

That sounds a touch hyperbolic, but let’s put the question to the crowd. As another famous tech litigant said (along with a famous songwriter), is Quinn the Louisville Slugger, or the ball?

Will John Quinn make it out of this trial alive?

  • If he's lucky. He's getting blown apart. (51%, 343 Votes)
  • Yeah, he knows what he's doing. Just wait for the grand plan to unfold. (49%, 329 Votes)

Total Voters: 672

Loading ... Loading ...

Live blog: Apple-Samsung patent trial; Apple design expert takes stand [SiliconValley.com]
Apple design expert calls Samsung a copycat [CNET]
Apple v. Samsung: Patents“>Apple v. Samsung: Patents [WSJ]
Apple Lawyers Grill Samsung Strategy Head at Patent Trial [WSJ]
Phil Schiller Testifies: ‘You’re Stealing All the Value We’ve Created’ [Wired]
Judge cracks whip during Apple v. Samsung [EETimes]

Earlier: John Quinn Defends His Personal Honor As Apple v. Samsung Trial Gets Crazier

CRM Banner