Apple and Samsung Face Off in Court as Second Patent Infringement Trial Begins

Apple is seeking more than $2 billion in damages from Samsung in a second patent infringement suit that begins Monday in the US District Court of Northern California with Judge Lucy Koh presiding over the case (Via The Financial Times).

apple_samsung_logos
This second lawsuit involves new patents and more recent devices than the previous case, which ended with an $890 million judgement in Apple's favor. This latest suit focuses on five utility patents involving software features such as auto-correct, slide-to-unlock and Siri's universal search. Apple lists Samsung's Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Nexus smartphones as infringing devices.

Google is expected to take a bigger role in the litigation with testimony from executives such as current vice-president of Android engineering Hiroshi Lockheimer and former Android Chief Andy Rubin. These executives will discuss how Android was developed outside the influence of Apple and iOS. Apple is expected to again call Phil Schiller to testify on the design, development, and marketing of iOS and associated hardware.


Before the trial even begins, Samsung already has been handed a minor setback as reported by Re/code. Judge Koh rejected a motion by Korean company that objected to an instructional video describing the patent process because it includes references to Apple products. Samsung argued the newer video, shown above, was "highly prejudicial to Samsung" and asked that the jurors be shown an older, more neutral version. Koh disagreed.

Popular Stories

iphone 17 models

No iPhone 18 Launch This Year, Reports Suggest

Thursday January 1, 2026 8:43 am PST by
Apple is not expected to release a standard iPhone 18 model this year, according to a growing number of reports that suggest the company is planning a significant change to its long-standing annual iPhone launch cycle. Despite the immense success of the iPhone 17 in 2025, the iPhone 18 is not expected to arrive until the spring of 2027, leaving the iPhone 17 in the lineup as the latest...
duolingo ad live activity

Duolingo Used iPhone's Dynamic Island to Display Ads, Violating Apple Design Guidelines

Friday January 2, 2026 1:36 pm PST by
Language learning app Duolingo has apparently been using the iPhone's Live Activity feature to display ads on the Lock Screen and the Dynamic Island, which violates Apple's design guidelines. According to multiple reports on Reddit, the Duolingo app has been displaying an ad for a "Super offer," which is Duolingo's paid subscription option. Apple's guidelines for Live Activity state that...
Clicks Communicator Feature

'Clicks Communicator' Unveiled — Will You Carry This With Your iPhone?

Friday January 2, 2026 6:35 am PST by
The company behind the BlackBerry-like Clicks Keyboard accessory for the iPhone today unveiled a new Android 16 smartphone called the Clicks Communicator. The purpose-built device is designed to be used as a second phone alongside your iPhone, with the intended focus being communication over content consumption. It runs a custom Android launcher that offers a curated selection of messaging...
Low Cost MacBook Feature A18 Pro

Low-Price 12.9-Inch MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Reportedly Launching Early This Year

Friday January 2, 2026 9:08 am PST by
Apple plans to introduce a 12.9-inch MacBook in spring 2026, according to TrendForce. In a press release this week, the Taiwanese research firm said this MacBook will be aimed at the entry-level to mid-range market, with "competitive pricing." TrendForce did not share any further details about this MacBook, but the information that it shared lines up with several rumors about a more...
Low Cost A18 Pro MacBook Feature Pink

Apple's 2026 Low-Cost A18 Pro MacBook: What We Know So Far

Friday January 2, 2026 4:33 pm PST by
Apple is planning to release a low-cost MacBook in 2026, which will apparently compete with more affordable Chromebooks and Windows PCs. Apple's most affordable Mac right now is the $999 MacBook Air, and the upcoming low-cost MacBook is expected to be cheaper. Here's what we know about the low-cost MacBook so far. Size Rumors suggest the low-cost MacBook will have a display that's around 13 ...
Apple Fitness Plus hero

Apple Announces New Fitness+ Workout Programs, Strava Challenge, and More

Friday January 2, 2026 6:43 am PST by
Apple today announced a number of updates to Apple Fitness+ and activity with the Apple Watch. The key announcements include: New Year limited-edition award: Users can win the award by closing all three Activity Rings for seven days in a row in January. "Quit Quitting" Strava challenge: Available in Strava throughout January, users who log 12 workouts anytime in the month will win an ...
Mac Pro Feature Blue

What's Happening With the Mac Pro?

Wednesday December 31, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple hasn't updated the Mac Pro since 2023, and according to recent rumors, there's no update coming in the near future. In fact, Apple might be finished with the Mac Pro. Bloomberg recently said that the Mac Pro is "on the back burner" and has been "largely written off" by Apple. Apple apparently views the more compact Mac Studio as the ideal high-end pro-level desktop, and it has almost...

Top Rated Comments

ouimetnick Avatar
154 months ago
Why doesn't Samsung just come up with their own ideas instead of copying and pasting other's ideas.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kdarling Avatar
154 months ago
Apple didn't steal anything from Xerox, which is why Xerox never sued.
Yes, Xerox sued Apple. Go read some history. You can start with this NY Times article (http://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/15/business/company-news-xerox-sues-apple-computer-over-macintosh-copyright.html) from 1989:

"Xerox's suit, which was filed in Federal District Court, charges Apple with copyright misrepresentation and seeks more than $150 million in royalties and damages.

"Xerox contends that the Lisa and Macintosh software stems from work originally done by Xerox scientists and that it was used by Apple without permission."


There's nobody at Xerox who think Apple did anything wrong,
There were plenty of people at Xerox who thought that.

In fact, the person whom Jobs asked to give the demonstration, Adele Goldberg, famously warned Xerox that Apple was going to steal their work. Her boss, Robert Taylor, was out of town at the time, but later said he would've told Jobs to "get out".

if anyone is to "blame" for that whole thing it's Xerox's management itself for selling Apple their technology. The key part in the story here is that Apple paid Xerox.
Xerox did not sell anything to Apple. Nor did Apple pay Xerox anything.

Xerox did license Smalltalk 80 to Apple, but that was TWO years AFTER Apple's famous visit... and that's ALL they said they licensed.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
UBS28 Avatar
154 months ago
Why doesn't Samsung just come up with their own ideas instead of copying and pasting other's ideas.
Samsung has no own ideas like 3G and 5G technology? Apple is using 2 essential patents from Samsung for data transmissions and an American court will of course not rule in favour for a non-American company. Without Samsung's inventions, there would be no iPhone because it would not work.

Inventions such as pinch to zoom are no "inventions" from Apple since other manufactures have "invented" it a long time before the iPhone. And Apple is build on stealing others work such as Xerox.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Marty62 Avatar
154 months ago
I think that it's a pretty disgusting practice to show so many Apple branded
products in a "Pre-Trial" instructional video on Patent law !!

That should have never been allowed, no matter which opinion you have.

Where is the "Justice" or "fairness" in that ??

Judge Koh should be ashamed.

M.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Shanghaichica Avatar
154 months ago
meh, apple just release your larger screened iphone already (or is that copying?)

from what we've seen from android OEM's already this year - the door is wide open for you.

It's not copying when Apple do it. It's called innovating :)

----------

An American company goes to an American court to sue a non-American company. We all know how this court will rule. No bias here.

There isn't much Samsung can do despite all the lawyers they have. It's an unfair fight.
Yes only in America.

I loved the British judge who put Apple in their place and told them to run adverts on their website saying that Samsung didn't copy them.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GenesisST Avatar
154 months ago
Just get all Samsung and Apple fanboys unto a battlefield and let them settle it. I see multiple advantages:

- No more money to lawyers
- Settled once and for all
- There will be one fanboy left.
(Actually, we hire a hit man for that last one...)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)