In the second Apple vs Samsung U.S. patent case that’s set to start on Monday, Apple has already scored a minor victory against Samsung over an instructional video for jurors, which explains patents and patent law. In the video that describes how patents work to protect inventors, several Apple products are depicted including the iPhone and iPad, both part of the current trial. That’s why Samsung wanted the video thrown out, and replaced with an older one that doesn’t feature Apple’s products, and which was shown in the 2012 lawsuit between the two.
“Because Apple’s alleged innovation is a central disputed issue in this trial, it would be highly prejudicial to Samsung to show the jury — before any evidence is introduced — an official instructional video that depicts Apple products in such a context,” Samsung said in a motion. “Doing so would raise serious concerns about Samsung’s ability to obtain a ‘fair trial’ by ‘impartial’ jurors,” which is one of the most ‘fundamental’ interests that exists under the Constitution.”
However, Judge Judy Koh decided to allow the video, FOSS Patents reports, overruling Samsung’s objection “without citing any reason.”
“I think the video overstates Apple’s contributions to innovation. On the one hand, there’s no doubt that the iPhone and the iPad changed and created entire product categories. On the other hand, in the context of patent law it’s key to consider what existed before,” FOSS Patents’s Florian Mueller writes, adding that Apple failed to obtain any significant victories against Android device makers in Europe because “the (unbiased) judges over here found with respect to each and every Apple patent that came to judgment after a challenge that whatever Apple added on top of the prior art, if anything, was not inventive by European engineering-focused standards.”
Mueller argues that just like he sided with Apple, when the iPhone maker requested in 2012 to have Samsung logos on screens in the courtroom covered, he’s now taking Samsung’s side on the video matter, which should not feature any Apple products. Overall, “Apple deserves to emerge victorious from the trial, but only on subset of claims, not to the tune of $2 billion, not with propaganda videos,” Mueller further added.
The new instructional video (uploaded on YouTube on November 22, 2013,) as well as the old one (dates December 12, 2008), which was already shown in the 2012 Apple vs Samsung trial, follow below.
