Split decisions on Samsung-Apple fight?

There are two decisions coming in the patent disputes pitting Samsung Electronics against Apple.

In Seoul, a delayed court ruling is scheduled for Friday, which will be followed by a ruling by the jury in San Jose, Calif.

“I think the decision will be different in each country. When we talk about design, this is more about superficial and artistic feelings. If the U.S. jury favors Apple, the Korean court could be different in its ruling,’’ said Yoon Seon-hee, a law professor at Seoul’s Hanyang University.

Concerning strategy, Chung Woo-sung, a patent attorney, said, “Samsung will continue its legal fight, irrespective of who wins, because it is the leader of the Google Android community.’’ He added that Google is closely collaborating with Samsung in the legal tussle.

In the next round, another patent attorney Chung Dong-joon said Samsung is likely to pin its case on former Apple designer Shin Nishibori’s testimony.

Judge Lucy Koh had refused to accept Shin’s previous testimony but, if it goes to a new round, there is a chance that Shin’s claim that Apple copied Sony can be heard by the court, Chung said.

He added that it is “evidence that supports Samsung’s claim that it didn’t copy Apple i-devices.’’

After Koh refused to let Samsung show evidence including phone designs that pre-dated the iPhone, Samsung leaked the evidence to the press along with a statement, angering Koh.

It then said: “Samsung was not allowed to tell the jury the full story and show the pre-iPhone design for that and other phones that were in development at Samsung in 2006, before the iPhone.’’

If Samsung wins a favored ruling, then it will cement its current leadership in the global handset industry as it can manufacture more Galaxy devices based on its powerful base in manufacturing.

In the opposite scenario, Apple could narrow the market gap with Samsung and expand gap with other phone makers that use Google’s Android as their main software.

According to data from IDC, a market research firm, devices using Android software take up 64.1 percent of the market, followed by Apple’s iOS with 18.8 percent as of the end of the second quarter of the year.

“Considering previous lawsuits between tech companies that mostly ended with a cross-licensing deal, the U.S. jury won’t give a one-sided ruling,’’ said Kim Hyung-shik, an analyst at Taurus Investment, a brokerage, expecting shares of Samsung Electronics to further rise throughout the remainder of this year despite new devices from Apple.

In April, last year, Apple sued its Korean partner by saying the latter copied the former’s unique product design. Apple is seeking $2.5 billion in compensation, while Samsung said Apple infringed on some 10 of its wireless technologies. <The Korea Times/Kim Yoo-chul>

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