The second Apple vs Samsung trial is well underway. In its defence the first witness Samsung called was Hiroshi Lockheimer, Google vice president of Android. The Korean juggernaut argues that many of the features that Apple alleges them of copying were first developed by Google. Taking jurors through the early development of Mountain View’s mobile operating system, Lockheimer said that engineers actually tried making Android very different from iOS,
Lockheimer said that the Android team was very passionate about what it was doing and it was important for the team to have its own ideas. “We liked to have our own identity,” he said. When Lockheimer joined the company in 2006 to worked with the Android team, it only consisted of 20 to 30 people back them, so it more or less operated like a startup. Now in the Android division around 600 to 700 people report to him. He also revealed that certain features like background syncing and quick links were developed in 2005 or 2006, prior to the launch of Apple’s first iPhone.
The previous trial didn’t end very well for Samsung, it was ordered to pay around $930 million in damages to Cupertino for infringing on its patents. The new lawsuit involves five patents which are allegedly infringed on by devices such as the Galaxy S2, Galaxy S3, Galaxy Tab 10.1 and more. Apple seeks $2 billion against this infringement, but Samsung won’t go down without a fight. It plans to bring as many as 17 witnesses by end of day on Monday, though Judge Lucy Koh has asked the company to tone down the list.