Apple, Samsung make final pitch to US jury

Apple, Samsung going toe-to-toe in patents dispute that mirrors struggle for industry supremacy between the two.

SAN JOSE: Apple Inc's  worldwide legal crusade against the Android mobile operating system drew toward a climax on Tuesday as the iPhone maker's attorneys accused Samsung of taking a shortcut by copying Apple's designs after realizing it could not keep up.   

Closing arguments were delivered at trial between Apple and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd in a federal court in San Jose, California. The jury will begin deliberating on Wednesday.

Samsung attorney Charles Verhoeven countered by urging jurors to consider that a verdict in favor of Apple could stifle competition and reduce choices for consumers.

"Rather than competing in the marketplace, Apple is seeking a competitive edge in the courtroom," Verhoeven said. "(Apple thinks) it's entitled to having a monopoly on a rounded rectangle with a large screen. It's amazing really."

Apple and Samsung are going toe-to-toe in a patents dispute that mirrors the struggle for industry supremacy between the two companies, which control more than half of worldwide smartphone sales.

A win for Apple could have a major impact on the industry because the South Korean company's mobile products are run on Google Inc's Android operating system, popular software that is used by many other manufacturers.

Before he died, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs told his biographer he intended to go "thermonuclear" on Android, saying it had copied Apple.

If the jury determines Samsung violated Apple's valid patents, US District Judge Lucy Koh could impose sales bans against the Korean company's products.

In court on Tuesday, Apple attorney Harold McElhinny urged jurors to consider the testimony of a South Korean designer who said she worked day and night on Samsung's phones for three months.

"In those critical three months, Samsung was able to copy and incorporate the result of Apple's four-year investment in hard work and ingenuity -- without taking any of the risks," McElhinny said.

Apple is seeking more than $2.5 billion in damages from Samsung. An Apple expert said Samsung earned 35.5 percent margins on the tablets and phones at issue in the lawsuit from mid-2010 through March 2012, on $8.16 billion in US revenue. Samsung has disputed that figure.

Apple accuses Samsung of copying the design and some features of its iPad and iPhone, and is asking for a sales ban in addition to monetary damages. Samsung, which is trying to expand in the United States, says Apple infringed several patents, including some for its key wireless technology.

Both Apple and Samsung used a series of internal emails, witness testimony from designers, product demonstrations and mockups to present their case.