Apple and Samsung wrapped up their closing arguments Tuesday afternoon, leaving their patent infringement lawsuit in the jury’s hands. The companies have been fighting in court over allegations that they are infringing on each other’s mobile device patents.
Apple and Samsung’s patent infringement case goes to the jury
Apple and Samsung have been fighting in courtrooms around the world over mobile device patent infringement complaints for more than a year. Both claim the other company is using patents without proper licensing, and Apple has also accused Samsung of blatantly copying the iPad’s look and feel.
Apple is claiming Samsung owes US$2.5 billion for patent infringement, and Samsung claims Apple owes 2.4 percent of all iPhone sales for using its patents without proper licensing.
“They sat with the iPhone and went feature by feature, copying it to the smallest detail,” Apple attorney Harold McElhinny said in his closing statements. “In those critical three months, Samsung was able to copy and incorporate the core part of Apple’s four-year investment without taking any of the risks, because they were copying the world’s most successful product.”
Samsung’s legal team didn’t deny its smartphones looked like the iPhone, but instead claimed the similarities are there due to the natural progression of smartphone designs. Samsung attorney Charles Verhoven added that Apple never presented any evidence to show consumers were confusing his company’s smartphones with the iPhone “because there is none,” according to Macworld.
The jury faced over 100 pages of instructions yesterday following Apple and Samsung’s failure to trim down their claims ahead of closing arguments. The CEOs from both companies also met on Monday at Judge Lucy Koh’s request to talk about a possible settlement, but failed to reach an agreement.
The nine person jury now must work through the evidence and over 700 decisions listed on the jury form, so it’s unlikely they’ll return a verdict today.