Apple-Samsung patent battle now in jury's hands

22.08.2012
A nine-person California jury will begin their deliberations Wednesday in the landmark patent battle between Apple and Samsung. The case, which has been argued since the beginning of the month, pits two of the world's largest electronics makers against each other and could result in billions of dollars in fines depending on the jury's decision.

The case revolves around a handful of patents covering the look and feel of the iPhone and iPad and some of the icons on the devices' home screens. It's one of several legal battles the companies are fighting around the world but, given its location in the heart of Silicon Valley and close to Apple's Cupertino headquarters, it is perhaps the most closely watched.

Lawyers for Apple and Samsung spent their final afternoon in front of the jury Tuesday making their closing arguments.

During a 75-minute presentation, Apple lawyer Harold McElhinny reviewed some of the many hundreds of pages of evidence and testimony produced during the case and presented them as evidence that Samsung deliberately sought to produce what McElhinny called "iPhone knock-offs."

The documents included an internal Samsung analysis produced in 2007 that discusses the iPhone's strengths and press reports that trumpeted the iPhone's "revolutionary" design.

"In 2007, Steve Jobs shocked the phone world," McElhinny said. "A four-year effort had paid off. Apple turned over its future to designers and they came up with the iPhone."