As I reported yesterday Apple attempted a very interesting legal gambit in their trial with Samsung. Essentially, their claim was that as their opponent's lawyer had done something not entirely good therefore the whole trial was forfeit and Apple wins!
As to the specifics of this little story, Samsung desired to present some evidence and the judge said they couldn’t. OK so Samsung issued that information to the press, not the jury. Which, given that the jury has been empanelled and told not to read the press doesn’t seem so bad. At which point Apple leaps up and says, well, look what the’y've done, now you must rule that they have breached our patents!
Needless to say that's not quite how the law works. Whether or not Samsung has breached Apple's patents is something that will be decided by looking at the evidence about whether Samsung breached Apple's patents. Not the evidence of whether or not Samsung's lawyer released information to the press.
As, of course, the very sensible judge has ruled:
Apple's demand that Samsung be censured for releasing evidence that had been struck out of the two companies' patent battle has been rejected by the presiding judge.
Apple had asked Judge Lucy Koh to sanction the lawyers involved in Samsung's decision to send evidence that had been filed too late for the trial proceedings to some members of the press, or else to rule in favor of Cupertino for the whole case – something to which Samsung objected.
Sadly, while there are penalties for lawyers who do naughty things (as that Samsung lawyer is going to find out later) making outrageous claims in court isn't one of those naughty things. For which the Apple lawyers are obviously suitably grateful.
I mean, seriously guys? A lawyer talks to the press and thus Samsung must have been violating patents?
