In response to claims that it intentionally released excluded evidence in hopes of influencing the jury in its court battle with Apple, Samsung’s legal team said it didn’t do anything wrong, and was only responding to media inquiries.
“Contrary to the representations Apple’s counsel made to this Court, Samsung did not issue a general press release and more importantly, did not violate any Court Order or any legal or ethical standards,” Samsung’s legal team said in a court filing, according to CNET.
Samsung says sending journalists excluded evidence was OK
Samsung had hoped to convince Judge Lucy Koh to reverse her earlier ruling and allow evidence at trial that the company felt would prove Apple’s iPhone was inspired by Sony smartphone designs. John Quinn from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, the legal firm representing Sony in court, went so far as to beg the Judge on the opening day of the trial to allow the evidence.
A few hours after Judge Koh said she wouldn’t reverse her ruling, Samsung’s PR department sent PowerPoint presentations showing the evidence along with a statement to several journalists. In response to Samsung’s move, she demanded to know who wrote the press release, who approved it, and how Mr. Quinn was involved.
Apple’s legal team accused Samsung of attempting to “pollute the jury,” and called the move blatant contempt of court. Samsung, however, said it was simply responding to media inquiries, and that releasing the information wouldn’t taint the jury.
“Samsung’s brief statement and transmission of public materials in response to press inquiries was not motivated by or designed to influence jurors,” Mr. Quinn said. “The members of the jury had already been selected at the time of the statement and the transmission of these public exhibits, and had been specifically instructed not to read any form of media relating to this case.”
Mr. Quinn reiterated that Samsung hasn’t violated any court rules or ethics, and that Apple’s legal team is trying to make him look bad. “These false representations by Apple’s counsel publicly and unfairly called my personal reputation into question and have resulted in media reports likewise falsely impugning me personally,” he said.
Apple and Samsung have been fighting in courtrooms around the world over patent infringement complaints for over a year. Both companies claim the other is using mobile device patents without proper licensing, and Apple has also accused Samsung of blatantly copying the iPad’s look and feel. The iPhone and iPad maker is claiming Samsung owes US$2.5 billion for patent infringement, while Samsung claims Apple owes 2.4 percent of all iPhone sales for using its patents without proper licensing.