We should all know by now that Apple and Samsung are locked in a trial centered around a patent infringement case that has been bubbling away for the better part of the last eighteen months. With various allegations being made from either side, the dispute is primarily focused on the alleged patent and design infringements, with Apple said to be looking for $2 billion in compensation from the Korean electronics giants. As is usually the case with trials that center around this kind of thing, nothing is ever straight forward with Samsung vehemently disputing the claims and making their own accusations aimed at Apple.
In a rather bizarre twist in the case which looks like it could provide the perfect script for some kind of legal drama TV series, Apple has requested the California court for "sanctions and other relief that may be appropriate" to be applied to Samsung. So just what do they mean when they say they want appropriate sanctions applied to the makers of the Galaxy range of devices? Well, they want the court to rule in favor of them, of course. Although that is unlikely to happen based on this request alone, the request has been made due to the fact that Samsung’s legal team released certain documents to the media that had previously been ruled as inadmissible evidence by judge Lucy Koh.
One of Samsung’s attorneys, John Quinn, was ordered yesterday to release a statement by judge Koh, that stated he had indeed approved the release of the documents but had only done so after a large number of media requests and that all of the documents in question were already in the public record. Regardless of whether that is the case, the Apple legal team clearly feel that it was a clear attempt by Samsung’s counsel to influence the jury in the case with evidence that had already been dismissed.
It also looks apparent that the Apple legal eagles aren’t entirely convinced that the release of the documents came on the back of intense media request and pressure. William F. Lee, who is part of the team which represents Apple in these matters, claims that the press is saying the documents released were entirely initiated by Samsung and even if there had been media involvement they should have been ethical enough to refuse the requests. This latest twist in the ongoing battle is a clear indication that neither company is ready to lie down and accept defeat in this matter, but it would appear that Samsung may not have made the decisions from a public PR and legal point of view.
(via BBC)
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