A lawyer for Google testified yesterday that the company has agreed to take over defense of some of the claims in the Apple vs. Samsung case and compensate Samsung should it lose on those claims, reports Re/code.
Apple
played deposition testimony from Google lawyer James Maccoun, who
verified emails in which Google agreed to provide partial or full
indemnity with regard to four patents as well as to take over defense of
those claims. Of the four patents Google over which offered to cover at
least some costs, two were dropped from the case before the trial
began. The two patents that remain in the case, the ’414 and ’959
patents, cover background synchronization and universal search,
respectively.
Both representatives for Samsung and Google declined to comment on the matter.
Apple
is suing Samsung for alleged infringement of five patents and is
seeking damages of around $2 billion. Samsung says it is not infringing
and even if it was the damages would be far less. Samsung has called
Google witnesses as part of its defense; however, this news suggests
that Google could be playing a larger role than previously thought.
Maccoun's
testimony revealed references to emails between Google and Samsung that
detailed Google's willingness to assist in Samsung's legal defense.
Apple then read into a record a Samsung response from September 2012 in
which it said it was not seeking compensation from anyone else.
If
Google is offering indemnity to Samsung it would likely be for
proprietary apps whose code cannot be changed by manufacturers, says the
report.
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