As Apple and Samsung begin their high-stakes face-off in a courtroom this week, there will one very interested observer — Google. This closely watched legal tussle is considered by some to be a proxy for a war between two technology giants, Apple and Google.
Apple, which transformed the market with the 2007 debut of the iPhone, has launched a global attack on Samsung and other handset makers that use Google’s Android software. The trial kicking off Monday in federal court in San Jose, Calif., could help bolster or refute Apple’s contention that Google’s operating system illegally copies software features of its own devices.
If a legal decision is handed down that Samsung’s Android powered hardware infringes on Apple’s patents, it could spell trouble for the South Korean company and all other Google partners worldwide.
If Apple loses, Android could continue its forward march that has made it the number one smartphone operating system in the world.
“It really feels like Apple versus Google instead of Apple and the company whose name is on the suit,” said Brian Love, a professor at Santa Clara University School of Law who specializes in patents.
The legal disputes began over two years ago, when Apple sued Android partner HTC in March 2010, and then sued Samsung in April of 2011.
Apple has not sued Google directly, instead going after Google’s hardware partners.
Although Apple has declined to say why it has went after the hardware partners, patent lawyers say it’s easier to make a case for monetary damages against hardware companies who make handsets and tablets and sell them to consumers.
Google, who makes most of its money as an online advertising and search provider, licenses the Android OS to its partners free of charge.
Google is thought to be watching the courtroom action closely. None of its employees are expected to testify, but legal representatives from Google are expected to be attending the trial.
The search monolith’s name is expected to come up during the trial, as Apple has submitted to the court an email referring to feedback Samsung received from Google after a 2010 design meeting at Google to discuss two Samsung Galaxy tablets.
The feedback was that the Samsung devices were “too similar to Apple” and should be made “noticeably different.”
Spokespersons for Samsung and Google declined to comment.
