
Samsung was recently reprimanded in court on Tuesday after the company leaked evidence that was excluded from the proceedings to media outlets (such as AllThingsD) and issued an out-of-court statement saying the exhibits “would have established beyond doubt that Samsung did not copy the iPhone design.” According to PC Magazine, the comment refers to the exclusion of a deposition taken from former Apple designer Shin Nishibori, which outlined a conversation he had with SVP of Industrial Design, Jonathan Ive, over what an iPhone would look like if it were made by Sony.
"The Judge’s exclusion of evidence on independent creation meant that even though Apple was allowed to inaccurately argue to the jury that the F700 was an iPhone copy, 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," Samsung said in a statement. "The excluded evidence would have established beyond doubt that Samsung did not copy the iPhone design. Fundamental fairness requires that the jury decide the case based on all the evidence."
According to a report on CNET, Judge Lucy Koh was made aware of the evidence leak by Apple attorneys and ordered Samsung to file a brief explaining who wrote the statement and who gave the green light on its dissemination. It was said that the Judge was “audibly irritated” with the whole issue.
The “Sony-styled” iPhone evidence was presented in Samsung’s trial brief previously but the design and deposition were ultimately excluded from the trial. From Nishibori’s deposition in May stated the following:
First, Jonathan Ive talked to me. "Well, Shin, I have something to talk to you about." He said, "You can do this as an aside of your job and enjoy - I want you to enjoy doing this. But if Sony were to make a iPhone, what would it be like? Would you make it for me?"
The Apple vs. Samsung trial just recently started and has a long way to go but is considered one of the most important patent cases in U.S. history.
Source: AllThingsD, CNET, PC Magazine
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