Yesterday, jurors at the $2 billion patent infringement trial of Samsung Electronics Co heard one of Apple Inc's witnesses presenting a revised version of a consumer demand survey that would supposedly prove that the infringement of the contested patents had driven demand up for mobile gadgets of the South Korean company. Bloomberg said the move indicated that Apple is looking for more than the $2 billion damages as demanded in its lawsuit against Samsung.
A Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor John R. Hauser was introduced as Apple's witness in court and presented results of its Web survey, which supposedly indicate that consumers were more willing to shell out more for the patented smartphone features of Apple. Bloomberg said that Hauser testified that the survey revealed a 5% drop in the willingness of a consumer to purchase a smartphone if the gadget does not have a feature that would allow users to use just one universal search function to look up information from varied sources.
One of Samsung's lawyers, Bill Price, cross-examined Hauser in a way that it would show jurors that the South Korean company's marketing and products and not the purported infringement of Apple's patents had driven up the sales of its Galaxy mobile series and subsequently caused a slowdown in the sale of iPhone units in the market. Bloomberg said Price countered with a survey, which showed only one out of four owners who owned Google Inc's Android operating system-powered phone is mulling over a purchase of an iPhone. Price also had Hauser confirmed that the latter's study was not designed to predict the impact of a consumer brand on customers.
Professor Brian Love at Santa Clara University Law School is among the many curious experts who are puzzled over Apple's dedicated pursuit of banning Samsung products when the patents in contestation will be considered relics by the time the Steve Jobs-founded company could win an injunction, if ever. Bloomberg said Apple reasoned that a sales ban was required to stop its rival from marketing products that are somewhat similar to the former's own in the future.
