As duelling mobile giants Apple and Samsung struggle to get through their testimony in the 25 hours they have each been allocated, presiding Judge Koh has been driven to distraction, yelling that Apple’s legal team must realise their time will run out unless they are “smoking crack”.
Apple and Samsung are facing off in a San Jose court to settle allegations that the firms copied each other’s smartphone and tablet design patents. Judge Koh, doing her best to keep the proceedings under control, allowed each company 25 hours for its witness testimony, but with 2 hours remaining in Samsung’s allocation and 4 hours left to Apple, there are still many (mostly Apple) witnesses remaining.
Koh’s anger was raised when Apple presented 75 pages of objections for her to go through, related to witnesses that may not be called due to time restrictions.
“You want me to do an order on 75 pages tonight? When, unless you’re smoking crack, you know that these witnesses are not going to be called?” Koh asked. “Who is going to call all these witnesses when you have less than four hours left?”
Apple’s legal team claim it will have time to cover all the witnesses. “Your honour, first of all, I’m not smoking crack,” said Bill Lee. “We have timed it out.”
But Koh may penalise Apple if its estimates are off. “If it turns out I will have gone through 75 pages of objections for people who are not realistically expected to be called, then I’m going to think up a proper tax for that,” she said.
See also:
Everything you need to know about Apple vs Samsung
Apple v Samsung: day by day account of patent trial: UPDATED
Author: David Price, Editor
David has loved the iPhone since covering the original 2007 launch; later his obsession expanded to include iPad and Apple Watch. He offers advice to owners (and prospective owners) of these devices.