The legal battle between Apple and Samsung hits the San Jose courts, marking the beginning of the patent jury of the year, if not the century-- one forcing the two companies to reveal a few interesting secrets.
As we all know, this US-based legal battle is just one of many spread all over the globe. Recent Apple vs Samsung decisions already took place in British and German courts.
Will Apple convince the jury it can claim monopoly on a design amounting to a rectangular screen with rounded corners? Samsung hopes not, accusing Apple of stifling "legitimate competition" in order to "maintain its historically exorbitant profits."
Apple claims Samsung infringes 4 design patents and 3 utility patents, and demands $2.5 billion in damages. Meanwhile Samsung demands a 2.4% royalty rate on iOS device prices for the infringement of 5 communications patents.
The San Jose court battle has an interesting side effect-- making the infamously secretive Apple spill the beans, as industrial designer Christopher Stringer, marketing VP Philip Schiller and top executive member Scott Forstall take the stand.
Stringer revealed dozens of sketches from the Apple industrial design team, as well as previously unseen iPhone prototypes. These include an 8-sided iPhone, a curiously tall and skinny iPhone and a chunky proto-iPad complete with kickstand.
Meanwhile Forstall tells details of process behind the creation of the iPhone-- a riddle shrouded in mystery even within the company itself. Forstall himself moved the cream of the Apple employee crop to a secret team hidden within a building whose door carried the legend "Fight Club" ("The first rule of Fight Club is you don't talk about Fight Club").
Interestingly, the jury also reveals how Apple does not even bother with actual marketing these days. Forstal says Apple simply allows the media to generate the required positive buzz (via glowing reviews and news reports) for post-iPhone devices.
Samsung is not pulling any punches, mind-- even if the judge rules out Samsung evidence against Apple in the shape of earlier tablet designs (such the Compaq TC1000) and the tablet-style devices seen in 2011: A Space Odyssey and UK TV show Tomorrow People.
Expect more details to emerge as the case goes on throughout this week.
Go Apple vs Samsung: Everything You Need to Know (Business Insider SAI)
