Samsung, Apple fail to make up

Kwon Oh-hyun Samsung CEO

Samsung Electronics and Apple have failed to reach compromise on their patent dispute in the court-ordered consultations between CEOs of the two firms.

Now, their dispute is left to the jury to settle. The deliberations will begin Tuesday.

Regarding the legal proceedings in San Jose, Calf., Samsung officials here said that the two sides talked under the presiding judge Lucy Koh’s orders but “no progress has been made,” one official said.

According to sources, Samsung CEO Kwon Oh-hyun talked with Apple’s CEO Tim Cook through videoconference. During the two previous highest-level contacts, Choi Gee-sung, who has now been promoted to head the Samsung corporate office, took the role of Cook’s counterpart.

Tim Cook Apple CEO

The previous two meetings also failed and the latest one was organized by the same judge.

“I see risk here for both sides if we go to a verdict,’’ she told the legal teams, according to All Things D. “It’s time for peace,’’ Koh was quoted as saying by the report.

The two sides will now discuss jury instructions on Aug. 20. Closing arguments are set for Aug. 21. Each company will have two hours for the final argument with a ruling due Aug. 25

“For the jury, the decision will be really tough and difficult as there are many arguments and issues, all of them are ambiguous. That’s why the judge is going to persuade the two companies to compromise,’’ said industry expert Kim Bang-shik, who’s been tracking the Apple-Samsung legal case, over the telephone.’

The Korean firm claims Apple should pay it $421.8 million for infringing on its patents, while the U.S. company wants $2.75 billion from Samsung. Apple says Samsung has sold 87 million Galaxy smartphones over the last two years since the product launch of 2010.

Apple says 22.7 million Galaxy products infringed on its design-related patents. Samsung is seeking between 2 and 2.75 percent of money made on Apple devices in royalties in return for using the Korean firm’s wireless patents. Apple made $12.23 billion from iPhone sales and $2.29 billion from its iPad.

“One of the key issues is that Apple isn’t ready to respect Samsung-owned wireless patents. When you talk about infringement of design patents, that’s difficult to judge as product designers are influenced from here and there. But when you talk about wireless patents, it’s quite evident. That means you shouldn’t make products without using them,’’ said a lawyer from the Korea Patent Attorneys Association (KPAA).

Samsung had previously pledged to commit the so-called FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) principle. Apple told Samsung that it can only give less than $1 when using Samsung-owned patents, which is “unacceptable and intolerable’’ for the Korean technology giant.

Apple said Samsung abused its “monopoly’’ and is demanding unreasonable royalties for the use of wireless patents in the iPhone. But Apple is in turn accused of abusing its “monopoly power’’ and demanding unreasonable and excessive price cuts from its Korean parts suppliers.

“Apple said Samsung has stolen the look and feel of its iPhone and iPad. This seems bogus. In some parts, the i-devices look unique, however, they aren’t entirely unique,’’ said the lawyer.

A judge in the United Kingdom ordered Apple to tell the world on both its websites and in major British newspapers that Samsung had not in fact infringed on the iPad’s design.

Apple sued Samsung claiming its Galaxy products copied the unique design of its i-branded devices. Apple has sued its crucial business partner around the world, including in the U.S. and U.K. <The Korea Times/Kim Yoo-chul>

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