Be a jurist and a fine and sharp one

B9 11794. Interview met Severin de Wit (IPEG) in The Korea Times over de Apple/Samsung octrooizaken:   Who copied who?  Apple’s copycat argument against Samsung faces backlash.

(…) According to him, most American and European companies that became giants in their own right start off by looking closely at their rivals, or more exactly, begin by copying but soon become creators themselves. ``Being a copycat alone or remaining a copycat will not help to survive in this highly-contentious and competitive market for consumer electronics,’’ said de Wit, who is also co-founder of IER, one of the Netherlands’ leading IP journals.

“(…) De Wit was a deputy judge in patent cases at the District Court of The Hauge (sic) from 1998 to 2002. He oversaw various issues related to electronics patent cases for a large law firm. When asked the possibility of whether Samsung Electronics will challenge Apple most in the global information and technology industry in a real sense he said, “No doubt about it. Of all smartphones sold in the world, one out of three is a Samsung.”

But in general, he was rather cautious to comment on the ongoing litigation between the two consumer electronics giants in Europe and the United States.

But he said the recent decision by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), in which the agency nullified Apple’s patent claims on a touch-screen “bounce back” feature, will help Samsung gain more legal edges. (…) “Every large patent battle starts with a selection of easy-to-explain patents, preferable user-interface patents, like the rubber banding patent that now is being revoked by the USPTO. It is hard to understand why even courts in one country can disagree among each other whether a party infringes a patent or whether a patent is invalid or not, let alone how the outcomes of the legal battle in different countries affects each party’s position. Patent fights become a jigsaw, leaving both parties at odds what the final result of the patent battle brings them.’’

(…) De Wit, who’s been in intellectual property field since 1978, said: ``Given the amount of publicity every bit of information on this high profile patent battle seems to get, any news of a win of one party over the other creates a new avalanche of blogs, publications, editorials and comments, enough to restore whatever impression the public has over on one of the parties. It only contributes in my view to the irrationality of patent battles and will only enlarge the frustration many feel over this type of IP litigation, asking what, if any, result in the market this type of legal fights have.’’

(…) Judge Koh needs be jurist. Asked if he had any advice for U.S. Federal Judge Lucy Koh, de Wit said, ``I wish her all the wisdom in the world, with a couple of million eyes and ears that follow each and every step you make, knowing that in the public eye, you never do it right. Be a jurist and a fine and sharp one.’’

“Meanwhile, the former Dutch judge also agreed with the widely held view that the chance of Samsung and Apple signing a cross-licensing is highly-unlikely in the near future. (…) ``The price would simply be too high. There is a risk for Apple though. The more the battle starts to resemble an Emmental cheese (cheese with holes), the less effective Apple’s efforts to draw a public image of Samsung as the copier and Apple to be the innovator, will stick in the public mind,’’ he said.

Lees het gehele interview hier.