Judge Slams Samsung Lawyers - Wall Street Journal

By IAN SHERR

Reuters

Samsung attorney Charles Verhoeven, right, delivered his opening statement as U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh watched on July 31.

SAN JOSE, Calif.â€"A federal judge on Friday criticized lawyers for Samsung Electronics Co. in its patent case with Apple Inc., while an Apple executive recounted its shock at what he called Samsung's copying of the iPhone and iPad.

U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh, on the third day of the closely watched trial between the big consumer electronics companies, berated Samsung for having released evidence to the press that she had ordered excluded from the case. Apple asked the court to sanction Samsung for its actions, arguing the jury could find out about the evidence through news reports.

The iPhone That Should Have Been

Apple

Apple experimented with making the iPhone silver and boxy.

Documents: Lawsuit and Counterclaim

See annotated versions of Apple's lawsuit and Samsung's counterclaim in the case.

Documents: Trial Briefs

See Apple's and Samsung's trial briefs, filed days ahead of the trial.

Photos: What's at Stake

See some of the products at stake in the case.

Park Jae-Hee/Xinhua/Zuma Press

Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet

Timeline: Tablet Tiff

See major events of Samsung's legal woes in patent infringement cases versus Apple.

Judge Koh denied Apple's request, but before the jury was brought in, had harsh words for Samsung and its attorneys at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP. They had "decided to possibly taint the jury," she said. "I will not let any theatrics or sideshow keep us from doing what we're here to do."

The judge brought in each juror individually and asked them whether they had read any news about the case in an attempt to see if Samsung's press release had made its way to the jury. She also assured the jury that they would be given all the evidence before they go to deliberations.

John Quinn, founding partner of Quinn Emanuel, argued in a declaration this week that the disclosure was "lawful" and "ethical" in part because the materials were already in the public domain.

The exchange appeared to put to rest a procedural flap that added to the opening drama of the closely watched trial, a flash point in a series of patent battles that have rocked the mobile-device industry.

Apple sued Samsung last year, saying the Korean tech giant had copied its mobile device designs. Since then, the two firms have locked horns in courtrooms across the globe, seeking injunctions against one another's products.

Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of world-wide marketing, resumed testimony Friday that focused on the work and investment the Cupertino, Calif. company had made to ensure the success of Apple's first smartphone.

"The iPhone was a brand new concept," he said, when discussing the original iPhone's announcement in January 2007. "We had many press reports from press, analysts and even competitors who said we would fail."

Mr. Schiller discussed Apple's strategy for selling its iPhone and iPad tablet computer, describing the company's advertising strategy of describing the product as the most important thing the company makes. The company showed original advertisements for the iPhone and iPad, describing the strategy which, as he called it, is known as "product as hero."

"We want to showcase those products as predominantly as we can," Mr. Schiller said.

Mr. Schiller added that he was surprised when he first saw Samsung's competing products.

"I was pretty shocked at the appearance of the phone and the extent to which it appeared to copy our products," he said, adding that customers could be confused between whose products were whose.

"It absolutely impacts our ability to market a distinctive product," he said.

His reaction to Samsung's competing tablet computer was even more dramatic.

Mr. Schiller said he thought, "They're just going to copy our whole product line."

Write to Ian Sherr at ian.sherr@dowjones.com