One of the legal experts representing Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) in a new case was the judge who ruled that the South Korean electronics manufacturer did not infringe the design of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPad.
Sir Robin Jacob, was the former judge who ordered Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to release a public apology to Samsung Electronics on its website and in a newspaper for accusing the South Korean electronics company of copying its design.
Based on the a filing with the International Trade Commission in the United States, submitted by the law firm, Fish & Richardson, Sir Jacob serves as one of the nine legal experts representing Samsung Electronics in its legal fight against Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC).
The South Korean electronics manufacturer clarified that Sir Jacob is an expert hired by the legal firm representing the company in its legal battle against Ericsson (ADR) (NASDAQ:ERIC) in the United States and he is not working as an employee of the company.
In a statement, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) said, “Sir Robin Jacob is not a legal representative of Samsung Electronics. A highly reputed intellectual property expert and academic, Sir Robin has been contracted as an expert by a law firm that represents Samsung Electronics in its case against Ericsson.”
Florian Mueller of Foss Patents commented that there is no law in the United Kingdom preventing a former judge to serve as a legal expert in different case for the same company involved in a previous case where he was the presiding judge.
On the other hand, Mueller thinks the situation will be different in the United States.
“What would people say if Judge Lucy Koh, a few months after denying Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) a permanent injunction against Samsung, returned to private practice and was hired as an ‘expert’ by Samsung in a German litigation with Ericsson? I guess there are written or at least unwritten rules in the United States that would prevent this from happening in the first place. In the U.K. it appears to be above board and accepted,” he said.
Ericsson filed a patent infringement complaint against Samsung Electronics with U.S. International Trade Commission after the companies failed to renew their licensing agreement after two years of discussion.
The Swedish telecommunications company claimed that Samsung Electronics refused to renew its licensing agreement for its patents on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms. According to the Ericsson, the patents in the case are significant in the networking and telecommunication standards used by Samsung in its devices.
In a separate report, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) won a patent infringement case against Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) in Japan.
