Samsung Electronics, Apple lock horns in a Korean court

“...very obvious and comprehensive copying.” (Apple’s legal counsel)

“Apple is overestimating itself.” (Samsung Electronics’ legal counsel)

“This is court in the Republic of Korea.” (Presiding judge)

Samsung Electronics and Apple, which are entangled in an intense legal battle over patent infringement in many countries, locked horns in Korea on Friday. The two sides sought to win the judges’ minds with video presentations prepared for their first preliminary hearing in Apple’s lawsuit to block violation of its patent rights and win damages from Samsung.

Apple claims Samsung copied its cellphone design and technology.

More than 50 audience members took part in the civil trial at Small Court No. 367 in the East Wing of the Seoul Central District Court, and the trial proceeded with the doors remaining open.

○ Apple’s offense: “We will file suit against Galaxy Tap 10.1 as well.”

Apple was the first to launch an offensive. To graphically illustrate the similarity between its iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy S, Apple played a video and said, “The Galaxy S infringed on our patents for screen touch technology and design.”

Playing on the white screen in the court was a video of scenes of the iPhone and Galaxy S in which the screen pops open when a user pushes the touch screen all the way to the edge, scenes of a user activating the mobile phone by pushing a sliding lock, and the array structure and shapes of icons on the screen.

“The Galaxy S is copying not only the user interfaces of the iPhone and iPad but also the design of the package cover and product cases and product deployment methods,” said an Apple spokesman. “Our rights are being infringed on as chances are high that consumers are confused between the companies’ products because of too obvious and comprehensive copying (by Samsung).”

“We will expand our lawsuit to seek an injunction against the production and transfer of the Galaxy 10.1, which Samsung introduced after we filed the lawsuit, and to force Samsung to discard the product.”

○ Samsung’s defense: “Apple’s technologies were already available.”

When Apple ended its presentation, Samsung countered by saying, “By exaggerating its rights, Apple is privatizing a public arena,” adding, “The touch screen technology and design to which Apple claims rights had already been announced at academic conferences in the U.S. several years ago.”

As evidence, Samsung displayed a thesis paper publicized by the American Artificial Intelligence Society and a video publicized together with the paper. At that moment, a simultaneous interpreter for Apple sped up her work in court.

Samsung said, “The iPhone’s design is also so common that Apple cannot claim patent rights to it.”

As an example, Samsung displayed on the screen the design of the so-called Prada Phone, which had been created by LG Electronics and adopted as a public design by the European Union, in comparison with that of the iPhone in defending its stance.

“Consumers aren`t buying products without recognizing the Samsung and Apple brands,” said Samsung.

When the two sides exchanged verbal attacks over a German court’s injunction to block the sale of Samsung’s smartphone in Europe, presiding judge Kang Yeong-su said, “This is a court of the Republic of Korea.”

The two sides also engaged in a war of nerves when setting the schedule for the next hearing, Samsung agreed to submit an answer sheet by Sept. 5, right before the Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) holiday, and they agreed to hold the hearing on Sept. 23.

jks@donga.com