It’s being called the patent trial of the century: Apple v. Samsung. Which since Samsung complained to the court is also officially known as Samsung v. Apple.
The trial, in a San Jose federal courthouse, is set to determine whether Samsung’s range of smartphones owe so much to the iPhone that they are infringing on Apple patents.
Tuesday was technically day two of the trial; day one was filled up with the interminable jury selection process, as both sides sought to find Silicon Valley residents who didn’t have a strong bias towards either Apple or Android, the operating system on Samsung phones. That’s no mean feat.
Day two was much livelier, however and featured many of the kinds of moments we’re accustomed to in TV courtroom dramas, but never expect to see in real life. Witness Samsung’s lawyer begging, for what he said was the first time in his 26-year career, to reconsider a point of law. Witness Apple and Samsung trading zingers about each others’ originality.
