The fight between Samsung and Apple over their smartphone and tablet designs finally started its US jury trial in San Jose earlier this week. However, on Tuesday the judge in the case was not happy that Samsung"s attorneys released evidence from their side of the case publicly.
The New York Times reports that Samsung released documents on Tuesday to members of the media that it claims show Apple had taken some designs for its iPhone from an earlier proposal from Sony. Judge Lucy Koh ruled on Sunday that Samsung could not present that evidence during its opening statements.
One of Apple"s lawyers, Harold McElhinny, said that Samsung"s actions were an "intentional attempt to pollute the jury." Judge Koh demanded who at Samsung authorized the release of the evidence but apparently didn"t get a direct response at the time.
All of this drama was actually at the end of the day Tuesday at the trial. It began with Apple"s lawyers presenting their case to the now picked jury members. It questioned one of Apple"s designers, Christopher Stringer, who talked about how Apple had strict and secretive processes when it creates products, such as the iPhone and iPad. Stringer even called the iPhone a "cultural icon."
As far as Samsung, Stringer was blunt, stating, "We’ve been ripped off by everyone, Samsung in particular. We’re offended." The trial is expected to continue for the next few weeks.
Source: New York Times