Samsung calls Android’s VP of engineering to the stand [APPLE VS SAMSUNG 2014]
After 5 days into the “the next big patent lawsuit,” Apple is finally resting their case, seeking $2.19 billion in damages from Samsung over their alleged patent infringement. With that out of the way, it was Samsung’s turn to call upon witnesses, in which Hiroshi Lockheimer — Google’s VP of engineering for Android — made it up on the stand to talk, what else, but Android.
Lockheimer, who joined up with Google back in 2006, says he was “blown away” by what Andy Rubin showed him of an early Android build. Samsung was using Lockheimer testimony to drive the point home to jurors that it was Google who was responsible for many of the infringed software patents Apple was alleging in the case — not Samsung.
Lockheimer went on to explain to the jury how this wacky Android thing works (now that they’ve already been briefed on iOS). They learned that it was Google who developed the software, after which it was the OEMs job to install on their hardware (and make occasional UI tweaks). Samsung maintains that Apple’s quarrel — which involves “stock” Android devices like the Galaxy Nexus — is technically with Google. Once again, not Samsung.
Then it came time to talk about Android’s search function, a key patent Apple claims was infringed in multiple Samsung devices. Samsung attempted to downplay its usefulness by using Lockheimer’s testimony that only about 2% of people who used the search function in Android ever actually clicked on an application. 98% of the time, users clicked on web search results. Of course, Apple had a problem with Lockheimer’s statistic, noting that data came from more later versions of Android and not the versions found in the alleged infringed devices.
The trial is set to end later this month, with a few more key Google witnesses also taking the stand, though none as nearly as high ranking as Lockheimer (just a few lowly software engineers, UX researchers, and Google lawyers). I think it’s safe to say we’re all a little fed up with Apple’s litigation at this point, but we’ll bring you more from the trial when/if there’s anything worth bringing to your attention.