Dallas, Texas 04/23/2014 (FINANCIALSTRENDS) – Videotaped testimony provided by a patent lawyer for Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) shows just how much is at stake for the search giant in the $2 billion patent infringement trial between Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (KRX:005930).
Google Patent Lawyer’s Testimony
The rather dramatic videotaped testimony from Google patent lawyer James Maccoun was provided by the Apple legal team right after Apple’s lawyer read out a statement by Samsung in which the latter claims it’s not seeking indemnification from any third party in relation to the patent claims.
In the videotaped testimony, Maccoun explains their agreement with Samsung called the “Mobile Application Distribution Agreement.” The lawyer acknowledged that Samsung is indemnified under the agreement for two of the five patent infringement claims that Apple is accusing Samsung of in this trial.
It was not clear how much Google would have to pay to Samsung, and it was also not revealed how much, if anything, Google has already paid to Samsung. They do have the right to take control of the defense in the case for the two claims in question.
Google’s Behind-the-Scenes Role Comes to Center-Stage
Regardless of the actual impact of the revelation that Samsung is indemnified for some of the claims being made by Apple, the fact remains that Google is now obviously a party to the lawsuit filed by Apple, instead of just fighting a proxy battle against Apple.
It’s a straight fight now between Apple and Android, so it comes down to whether Apple is accusing Google of encouraging phone makers to infringe on Apple’s patents using Android. It’s not likely Apple will go so far, but they will do their best to cast such aspersions and shake the foundations of Google’s patents.
For Samsung, this could actually be good news, because the jury will be more inclined to see them as being an innocent caught up in the patent wars between Apple and Google.
