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Apple v. Samsung jury questions Steve Jobs conversations, Google connection

Apple v. Samsung jury questions Steve Jobs conversations, Google connection

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In a note today, the jurors deciding the case between Apple and Samsung said they wanted to know exactly what late Apple CEO Steve Jobs said when deciding to pursue the legal fight against the South Korean electronics giant. The group also said it wanted to know specifically if Google was mentioned as part of that discussion, a notable detail in a case where the Android-maker is not named but has brought its employees to testify on Samsung's behalf.

"What did Steve Jobs say?"

"What did Steve Jobs say at the moment he directed, or decided to prosecute, a case against Samsung?" the group asked in a note. "Was Google mentioned, and/or included in that directive, or subsequent directives, to be included in any way in the case?"

A separate note asked for what happened on the other end of that: what Samsung's CEO said or wrote when he first heard about the possibility of Apple believing Samsung was infringing.

As expected, District Court Judge Lucy Koh shot down both requests and several others, noting that per the jury instructions that were agreed upon, all the evidence was in, and the group would not be provided with additional evidence.

Deliberations began yesterday

The eight-person group is currently deliberating on the case, a process that began yesterday following closing arguments. The process could conclude at any time, though is expected to wrap up this week. It took a similarly-sized jury a little less than three days to come to a decision in the 2012 trial between the two companies.

The question of when exactly the two companies first discussed infringement differs from when it was discussed internally. According to Apple, it first notified Samsung about the alleged infringement of one of the patents in this case as far back as August 2010. It wasn't until more than a year later, on August 19th, 2011 that Apple says Samsung began infringing on two other patents with the Admire smartphone.

Along with the inquiry about the creation of the complaint, the jury also requested more information about how Apple chose the five patents it's using in this case. Another asked for details on who at Samsung was in charge of deciding to buy the two patents it's using in this case. Like the others, Koh shot those down too, saying what was done, was done.