A US Federal Court Judge has ordered the CEOs of Apple and Samsung to seriously consider their position and if possible commence talks before a nine person jury is asked to make a decision in the patent battle between the two companies.Judge Lucy Koh told lawyers for the two tech giants that she “sees risks here for both sides” in handing the case to the nine-member jury, which is expected to begin deliberations next week.
Lawyers for the two Companies told Koh the CEOs would attempt to talk in an effort to resolve the case.
Patent experts are doubtful that an 11th-hour breakthrough will be achieved.
“I don’t think this dispute is ripe for a settlement,” Florian Mueller, an intellectual property consultant told the Wall Street Journal. Mueller claims that both sides have too much at stake in the case.
Apple CEO Tim Cook and Choi Gee-sung, Samsung’s CEO is believed to have met before in an effort to resolve the case.
This week Samsung has begun calling witnesses to the stand in an effort to prove that Apple has breached their patents. Wireless expert Tim Williams, took the stand for Samsung to argue that the iPhone and the iPad infringed two Samsung patents. One relates to conserving battery power while maintaining call quality and another enables phones to send data more efficiently.
On cross-examination, Apple lawyer Bill Lee, who works for WilmerHale, questioned Mr. Williams on whether he knew that the chips in the Apple devices he found to violate the patents were made by Intel Corp., not Apple, and that Samsung has a cross-licensing agreement with Intel. He said he didn’t and that it wasn’t important to his investigation.
Apple claims that Samsung ripped off the design of the iPhone and iPad. A Samsung industrial designer testified via a translator that work on a Samsung tablet started before Apple announced the iPad in 2010.
