Steve Jobs Tried Unsuccessfully to Defuse Patent Dispute with Samsung in 2010

Dow Jones Newswires and Bloomberg report on testimony from Apple patent portfolio manager Chip Lutton as part of the Australian dispute between Apple and Samsung, revealing that Steve Jobs personally initiated contact with Samsung in 2010 in an attempt to head off the conflict before it headed into the courts.

Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Inc. (AAPL), initiated contact with rival Samsung Electronics Co. in July 2010 to try to resolve a patent dispute that has since become a legal battle on four continents, an Australian court was told.

Jobs wasn’t involved once the ultimately unsuccessful talks over the Galaxy smartphone began, Richard Lutton, a senior director at Apple and the company’s patent attorney, told Federal Court in Sydney today.

“Samsung is an important supplier with whom we have a deep relationship,” Lutton testified in response to questioning by Samsung lawyer David Catterns. “We wanted to give them a chance to do the right thing.”

Apple is seeking an injunction against Samsung preventing the sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia. Samsung has agreed to delay the device's launch several times as the injunction is being considered by the court, and today's reports note that Samsung has offered to make some concessions such as eliminating a feature designed to recognize and ignore accidental touch input. The judge in the case has indicated that she plans to offer a decision next week on a preliminary injunction against Samsung, which would remain in effect as a full hearing potentially lasting several months is conducted.