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Apple v. Samsung Jurors Speak, Skipped Prior Art For "Bogging Us Down"
eldavojohn writes "PJ over at Groklaw has consolidated some of the more interesting juror comments made following the landmark $1 billion settlement. Apparently the foreman (a patent holder himself) took the jury through the process of how patents work and thus allowed them to return so quickly with a verdict without need of any instructions on how to work through all the material. Most sources are incredulous that all of the information was considered in the process. CNET quotes a juror as saying 'After we debated that first patent — what was prior art — because we had a hard time believing there was no prior art, that there wasn't something out there before Apple. In fact we skipped that one so we could go on faster. It was bogging us down.' While the fact that they they voted one way on infringement and another way on invalidity shows they were at least consistent, Groklaw is reporting on some odd inconsistencies in the aftermath of accounts from jurors. The appeal for something this huge goes without question but the accounts collected at Groklaw make this verdict and verdict process sound hasty, ambiguous and probably the result of one man's (the foreman's) personal opinion of patents."
Being blatant is one thing but subtle bias can creep bye. I have no reason to assume anything about the judge; however, I will assume that judges are not above skewing things to their own beliefs. Including nationalism, or clever marketing such as the kind Apple uses to align themselves with the identity of cool, hip, "revolutionary", and innovative. (things Samsung has not done.)
It was a US judge that was convicting and sentencing teenagers to maximum prison sentences for things such as shop lifting a 50cent candy bar or getting into a fight in school. He had connections to the privatized prison in the area and I believe he was making money from putting children into the business. It went on for years and was amazingly blatant before he finally was caught and arrested. One should wonder how many others exist who are disciplined enough to show restraint. The Supreme Court made corporations into people in a case that didn't even try for it when any child knows the difference.