The battle rages on, Apple has made some compelling arguments whilst making its case; the biggest of which was evidence that it had attempted to offer Samsung a licensing deal back in 2010. The deal covered all of Apple's patents - aside from its unique UI - however came in at a rather costly $30 per smartphone or $40 per tablet, with Apple offering a small reduction in licensing fees should Samsung have offered rights to its hardware patents.
It's now Samsung's turn to make its argument and, the firm has begun by attempting to prove prior art for many of Apple's patents, in an effort to discredit their originality.
First on the witness stand was Prof. Ben Benderson, who was amongst the creators of LaunchTile back in 2004, software co-developed by Microsoft and start-up Zumobi, which allows one-handed use of a smartphone through zooming. The tech was originally targeted at Pocket PC devices of the time - though it features both zoom and bounce-back features it does differ somewhat from Apple patents, though may go some way to disassembling the picture painted by Apple earlier in the minds of the jurors.
Most promising was the demonstration that followed of DiamondTouch, a multi-touch table-top computer that featured a capacitive touch panel. The device had been handed-out to many universities in the early 2000s for research purposes and had even been demonstrated to half-a-dozen Apple employees back in 2003.
The focus was all on DiamondTouch's FractalZoom app, which demonstrated single-finger dragging and two-finger zooming. Likewise, a second app, Tablecloth, demonstrated a snap-back feature, not hugely dissimilar to the one listed in Apple patents. On cross-examination, the best Apple lawyers could do was to point-out that the screen was powered by an internal projector and not an LCD panel.
No doubt there will be some legal quibbling over the finer points of Apple's patents, however we think with this move, Samsung has positioned itself well. Likewise, prior to Samsung taking the reins, the GALAXY S, S II and Ace were removed from the case, as these specific model variants weren't widely available in the US.
Where this case will end-up is still anyone's guess.
