Samsung is confident it will see victory in Apple patent lawsuit

KOREAN ELECTRONICS GIANT Samsung has told The INQUIRER that it is confindent it will see a victory in its on-going patent lawsuit against Apple, saying it "trusts that the jurors" will agree with its case.

Apple and Samsung entered the court room yesterday in one of the biggest intellectual property infringement cases of all time. Apple is accusing Samsung of copying the design of its Iphone and Ipad and is seeking £1.6bn in damages, while Samsung is arguing that Apple is trying to block competition.

Speaking to The INQUIRER, Samsung said that it is confident that the jurors will make the right decision - that Apple can't monopolise rectangular phones.

It said, "Patent law was never intended to give a company a monopoly over an entire market.

"Samsung wants to compete with Apple, not to stifle competition; to offer more choices to consumers, not to limit their ability to buy the product they want at a price they can afford.

"We are proud of our long history of innovation in the mobile industry; proud that our patents set industry standards; proud that other manufacturers, including Apple, depend on us to manufacture the core components of their own mobile devices.

"We trust that the jurors in this trial will agree that no company should have a monopoly over rectangular phones with rounded corners and large display screens; that consumers are not deceived when they purchase Samsung products into believing that they are made by Apple, which is the standard for infringement; and that when Apple does use the hundreds of industry standard patents owned by Samsung, it should pay the same reasonable fees that every other manufacturer does.

Samsung added that it's disappointed that the battle between the two companies ended up in court, saying, "While we would have preferred to settle our differences through negotiation, we look forward to the opportunity to present our case to the jury."

The trial between Apple and Samsung is expected to last up to four weeks. µ