Samsung adds Apple case judge to legal team

Samsung has employed the judge who ruled in the South Korean company’s favour last year in a patent dispute with Apple.

The Rt. Hon. Professor Sir Robin Jacob served on the bench in the case that forced Apple to publish an apology notice confirming that Samsung did not infringe any of its iPad patents with its own range of tablets.

After the case concluded, Apple later argued that the presiding judge had placed too much emphasis on differences between the rear design of the Samsung Galaxy Tab range in comparison to Apple’s own iPad selection. The trial judge declared that the “unusual details” of the Samsung tablets would not confuse consumers with the very minimalist designs of the iPad.

Although The Rt. Hon Sir Jacob had retired a year earlier, he was present at the Apple v Samsung case as UK law allows retired judges to sit on the bench for current cases and give their opinions.
 
Now Sir Robin will hold a position within Samsung’s team of legal experts, and whilst there isn’t a risk of violating UK law, some say it is inappropriate for the judge to work with Samsung in any capacity.

Samsung is in the middle of a new case with Ericsson, which Sir Jacob will be involved with as one of nine legal experts working for Samsung. The new job comes just four months after the conclusion of the Apple patent case.

“Sir Robin Jacob is not a legal representative of Samsung Electronics,” said Samsung in a statement, defending its relationship with the retired judge. “A highly reputed intellectual property expert and academic, Sir Robin has been contracted as an expert by a law firm that represent Samsung Electronics in its case against Ericsson.”

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Via: Telegraph