The
chief executive officers of Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Samsung Electronics Co. were
ordered to attend a settlement conference in their patent dispute before a federal
court in San Jose, California.
Both
companies told the court they are willing to participate in the settlement
conference, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose
wrote in 16 April order. The CEO and general counsel of each company will
appear, according to the filing. Samsung confirmed in an e-mailed statement that
the companies have agreed to participate and said the meeting will take place
within 90 days.
Apple
claims that Samsung’s 4G smartphone and Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer, among
other products, infringe its patents. In December, Koh
ruled against Apple’s request to block Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung from
selling that phone and tablet in the U.S. That order followed an Australian
court ruling lifting an injunction on the tablet there.
Samsung,
which was the world’s largest seller of smartphones last year, and Cupertino,
California-based Apple have filed at least 30 lawsuits against each other on
four continents since April.
Though
the companies said in a joint April 16 filing they are willing to participate
in the conference with Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero,
both sides said they are continuing to narrow the case for a scheduled Aug. 25
trial.
Both
companies said they intend to challenge expert testimony, with Samsung arguing
that Apple’s experts submitted testimony falling short of evidentiary
standards.
One
Apple expert explained how the company’s product design “allows people a
feeling of symbiosis with their electronic tools” and includes anecdotes about
his vacation in Spain, according to the filing.
Such
testimony is “not ‘expert’ in any sense,” Samsung said in the filing. “Several
other reports also suffer from irrelevance and methodology flaws,” the company
said.