Apple vs. Samsung Patent Lawsuit: Google Might Enter Patent Infringement Battle Over Android OS Features
The second patent infringement trial between Apple and Samsung is underway with juror selection in San Jose, Calif.
The two tech companies have waged an ongoing patent infringement battle worldwide in courts in Germany, Japan, United Kingdom, and previously in the U.S., but with new devices rolled out by Apple and Samsung on an annual basis, the companies continued to allege infringements.
The latest patent infringement trial has Apple suing Samsung on five patents that could see the South Korean-based company pay up to $2 billion in damages to the iPhone maker as well as a sales ban.
The patents in question are features that most people encounter on their smartphone and tablets such as the auto-complete, background syncing of data, hyperlinking, slide to unlock, and word suggestions during autocorrect. Some of the devices Apple alleged infringement is the Galaxy S3 smartphone as well as the Galaxy Note II and Galaxy Tab 10.1. Likewise, Samsung sued Apple over two of its patents and could see a ban on the iPhone 5, which Apple has discontinued in 2013 with the introduction of the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s. The iPhone 4, Phone 4s, iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad 4, iPad mini, and fourth and fifth generation iPod touch devices could also receive a sales ban.
Google could also get dragged into the court battle. As The New York Times' Brian Chen noted, some features Apple has alleged infringed are also part of Google's Android mobile operating system. Android is the world's most utilized mobile platform ahead of Apple's iOS and even Microsoft's Windows Phone in some countries. If Apple secures a second win with the latest patent infringement trial, Google may be forced to make adjustments to the Android operating system.
Former Apple employee Andy Rubin is currently an executive at Google's mobile division, and he could be asked to testify at the trial. Apple's Philip Schiller is also expected to take the stand again.
Coincidentally, the compensation packages for the head of Apple and Samsung were revealed with the latter outnumbering the iPhone maker. According to Reuters, Samsung Electronics Co.'s mobile business head J.K. Shin received $5.8 million for his compensation package for 2013. Apple CEO Tim Cook received $4.25 million, which is an increase from $4.17 million in 2012.
The second patent infringement trial follows the August 2012 verdict when a jury awarded Apple over $1 billion in damages against Samsung. U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh would later reduce the financial damages to $929.8 million. Judge Koh is also presiding the second patent trial.
As Latin Post reported, Apple CEO Tim Cook met with Samsung CEO JK Shin for a mediation session with the hope to avoid the March trial. The mediation session, reportedly held in early February, resulted in no agreements.
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For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO
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