Apple wants Samsung punished for leaking rejected evidence to press
With the Apple v. Samsung patent trial underway, Samsung has angered both US District Court Judge Lucy Koh and Apple by providing the press evidence that had been ruled inadmissible in court. Koh demanded that Samsung lawyers explain the leak, and Apple today asked Koh to issue sanctions against Samsung for trying to influence the jury through the media.
"This deliberate attempt to influence the trial with inadmissible evidence is both improper and unethical," Apple lawyer William Lee wrote in a letter to Judge Koh today, noting that Apple will today file "an emergency motion for sanctions and other relief that may be appropriate."
Apple and Samsung have been arguing over whether the iPhone is a knockoff of Samsung products. But after Koh refused to let Samsung show evidence including phone designs that pre-dated the iPhone, Samsung leaked the evidence to the press (you can see it at AllthingsD) along with a statement. "Samsung was not allowed to tell the jury the full story and show the pre-iPhone design for that and other phones that were in development at Samsung in 2006, before the iPhone," the company said.
