She is also considering Samsung's demand for the verdict to be completely wiped out and for a new trial to be held. Samsung raises a host of legal issues in arguing it was deprived of a fair trial in a courthouse a dozen miles from Apple's Cupertino, Calif., headquarters. One of it arguments is that jury foreman Velvin Hogan committed misconduct when he didn't divulge he had been sued by his former employer, Seagate Technology, in 1993. Samsung is a large investor in Seagate.
Koh showed no indication of what she thought of the argument, and most legal experts said Samsung had no chance of prevailing on that issue because it happened more than 20 years ago and Hogan wasn't specifically asked about it.
"The connection here is tenuous," said Christopher V. Carani, a Chicago patent attorney who has closely followed the case. "I would be surprised if Judge Koh accepted this argument and scrapped the jury's entire finding."
Koh's decision will help shape the ultimate result of the case, but this bitter legal battle is expected to land before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the Washington, D.C.-based court that decides patent disputes, if not the U.S. Supreme Court.
