Granted, for the proceedings at federal district court in San Jose was serene, compared to happened once the trial began. Seven men and three women were chosen to sit in judgement in the case.

By the first day of arguments on Tuesday, though, that number was pared to nine. One of the women jurors was because her employer told her it wouldn't be paying her while she did her civic duty.

As the trial began, Samsung brought up an old chestnut that had been rejected several times before by the judge presiding in the case, Lucy Koh. The South Korean company wanted to submit evidence that it had been working on prototypes of smartphones that resembled the iPhone before Apple's handset was released, as well as "prior art" that showed the American company cribbed from Sony for its iPhone designs.

Judge Koh rejected the evidence again. She said it was submitted to the court after the deadline she set for such submissions. Frustrated by the judge's ruling, Samsung made the evidence public by leaking it to the press.