In the recent Apple vs. Samsung trial, the Cupertino California company brought Peter Bressler, its first expert witness to the stand. During Apple’s examination, Bressler claimed Samsung’s designs were “substantially the same” as Apple’s; a thought which gained some traction at first. During Samsung’s cross-examination, Bressler ended up faltering.
In his testimony, Bressler, the founder of design firm Bresselgroup, walked the jury through the designs of numerous Samsung smartphones and tablets in an attempt to illustrate their similarities with Apple’s asserted patents. Here he went as far as accusing that Samsung infringed on a number of Apple patents. According to Bressler:
My opinion (is) that there are a number of Samsung phones and two Samsung tablets that are substantially the same as the design in those (Apple) patents.
When being cross-examined by Samsung lawyer, Charles Verhoeven, Bressler admitted that he had not witnessed customers mistakenly purchasing Samsung products. The expert was also grilled over the design elements between the two companies’ devices, and at one point even said “you’re asking me to compare peanut butter and turkey.” When stating the aforementioned analogy, Verhoeven asked which design was which food to which Bressler replied, “this is a level of detail that the ordinary observer would never be interested in looking at.”
Upon furthering questioning, Samsung asserted prior art claims regarding the iPhone’s front face which prompted Bressler to note the comparison was an improper analysis of the design patents. According to The Verge, Bressler pointed out that all eight illustrations should be used when examining prior art instead of the one view Samsung was comparing against. He continued on to say the following:
I believe the ordinary observer should be getting an overall impression of what the design of the phone is. I don't believe they should be examining teeny details the way you're doing.
Source: CNET, The Verge
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