Samsung defends against Apple accusations

SAN JOSE — Attorneys for Apple and Samsung are back in court Tuesday morning, continuing their third week of evidence presentation regarding the alleged infringement of Apple’s software patents.

Apple finished presenting witnesses on Friday, so Samsung continued Monday by bringing Google and Samsung employees to the stand to talk about Android.

Dianne Hackborn, a Google software engineer hired to work on Android, didn’t think that Samsung changed the applications Google wrote for Android and gave to Samsung:

“This is very core to Android. You can’t just change how these things work.”

Under cross-examination, Hackborn admitted that she did not know if Samsung had modified the browser. Apple is focusing on the actual infringement of the patents, while Samsung is painting a broader picture of the smartphone market.

Samsung even brought in higher-level executives to show the jury that they are taking the allegations of patent infringement seriously.

Former CEO of Samsung Telecommunications America Dale Sohn, now working in South Korea, testified about how Samsung viewed Motorola as a threat in the phone market.

Sohn did not testify in the 2012 patent trial because Samsung did not allow him to be deposed, but Sohn clarified that he was more comfortable with the issues now.

Sohn also testified in English instead of Korean unlike Youngmi Kim, a senior Samsung user interface designer who, in court, denied allegations that Samsung was copying Apple on the slide to unlock software feature.

The most notable part of Samsung’s defense was the talk about the marketing of its smartphones.

Samsung called its Chief Marketing Officer Todd Pendleton to inform the jury about the “Next Big Thing” ad campaign Samsung used to generate interest in its products.

Pendleton claimed the marketing effort had been successful, showing off the 2013 Super Bowl advertisement and stating that Samsung had the “most viral brand in the world.”

The commercials did not cite software features Apple accuses Samsung of infringing because, as Pendleton noted:

“They’re just not big purchase drivers.”

In cross-examination, Apple drew attention to Samsung’s efforts to disrupt the launch of the iPhone 5, but Pendleton replied that the disruption was limited to the marketing campaign. He was not concerned with the patent infringement case.

Samsung finished evidence presentation early Monday, as Apple cross-examinations of its witnesses was relatively short.

Court resumes Tuesday morning with Samsung continuing their evidence presentation.