14 DAY TRIAL // Samsung and Apple finally reached the point where they can argue their respective cases in front of a jury and, sure enough, the matter is in no way free of drama.
The 10-person jury tasked with overseeing the patent war between Apple and Samsung, in San Jose, California, USA, was chosen a couple of days ago.
Since then, both sides have outlined their points of view and re-stated their goals.
There was one piece of evidence that Samsung was not allowed to bring to the trial, namely a document that suggests Apple's iPhone was inspired by Sony's ideas.
For reasons not entirely clear to us, Judge Lucy Koh ruled that the comparison was not permitted in the opening argument. Thus, Samsung was denied the possibility to use the file as evidence.
“We are very disappointed by the court’s decision, which bans the use of evidence critical towards proving that Apple’s design is neither new nor unique,” a Samsung representative told AllThingsD.
“We will immediately file an appeal, as we believe the jurors deserve to hear the whole story behind the development of Apple’s design.”
But the US law system, like any man-made set of rules, has loopholes, and Samsung boldly exploited one when it published the file anyway.
If it couldn't use it in court, the corporation released the information to the media to at least improve its image somewhat.
The “excluded evidence” reveals that Samsung didn't copy the iPhone's design because devices with similar form factors were in development before said gadget even came out, including the F700.
Judge Lucy Koh was reportedly furious and demanded from Samsung's lawyer, John Quinn, to notify her “who drafted the press release and who authorized it from the legal team.”
We're not sure what penalty can be applied to Samsung because of all this, but it's clear enough that the point has been made.