Samsung has 46 minutes left for last day of witness testimony

Friday is scheduled to be the last day of witness testimony in the Apple v. Samsung patent trial. You might recall that Judge Lucy Koh gave each side 25 hours to present witnesses and cross examine the other side's witnesses. Heading into Friday, Apple has 3 hours and 53 minutes remaining while Samsung has just 46 minutes left. After Samsung complained about the lack of time it has remaining, Judge Koh noted that Samsung had made the choice to spend more time cross examining Apple's witnesses than Apple spent questioning them in the first place.

Toward the end of the day, both sides tried to cut the claims each side was making and the Judge tabled the motions for future discussion. A decision on the motions is expected before the weekend ends. Meanwhile, on Thursday, Samsung called Michael Wagner to the stand. An expert on calculating patent infringement damages, he said that Apple's demand for $2.5 billion to $2.75 billion was overstating the damages. He testified that should Samsung be found guilty of infringing on Apple's patents, Samsung should be liable for 20% to 25% of what Apple is seeking, or $500 million to $675 million. That is because Apple is omitting important costs in its calculations, like marketing the phones, pitching them to carriers, as well as the big item R&D.

Wagner said Apple's computations were based on the faulty assumption that if Samsung's infringing devices were removed from the market, the company would disappear from the market. Instead, Wagner told the jury that Samsung would work around Apple's patents to compete. The expert witness added that if Apple-patented specific features were removed from Samsung's phones, the Korean manufacturer would still be able to sell a competitive product.

After Samsung rested its case, Apple presented rebuttal witnesses including Tony Blevins, a former designer who is now VP of procurement for Apple. He testified about one of Samsung's counter claims against Apple that alleges that the latter firm infringed on a Samsung design for a cell data processor, which helps handsets complete phone calls. Blevins pointed out that the processor was made by Intel, not Samsung which should mean that Apple should not be found liable on that specific claim.

Former Apple software engineer Emilie Kim testified that a feature on the Apple iPhone that sends photos by email does not infringe on a Samsung patent that the Korean firm uses for a similar feature on a on its own phones.

source: eWeek