An Apple Inc expert witness testified
on Friday that consumers would be willing to pay $100 for three patented
smartphone features that are at issue in its high stakes trial against
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. John Hauser, a marketing professor
at MIT, said he surveyed consumers over the Internet about how much they
would pay for some of the technology in the lawsuit, like scrolling and
multitouch. That information could be relevant when calculating
potential damages for Apple, which is seeking over $2.5 billion from
Samsung.
However, Samsung hammered Hauser on the methodology for his study,
and Hauser eventually acknowledged that his results do not necessarily
correspond to what customers would actually pay for such technology in
the real world. "This relates to it but it's not it, no," Hauser said.
Apple and Samsung are going toe-to-toe in a patents dispute mirroring
a struggle for industry supremacy between two rivals that control more
than half of worldwide smartphone sales. The U.S. company accuses
Samsung of copying the design and some features of its iPad and iPhone,
and is asking for a sales ban in addition to monetary damages. The
Korean company, which is trying to expand in the United States, says
Apple infringed some of its key wireless technology patents. At the
close of the second week of trial on Friday in a San Jose, California
federal court, Hauser said tablet consumers would also be willing to pay
$90 for the same patented features.
Samsung attorney William Price asked Hauser why he didn't tell jurors
what consumers would pay for features like additional computer memory
on different tablet models. Those could be compared to the real world
prices that Apple charges, Price said.
"Wouldn't you want to look in the market and see whether or not this
makes sense?" Price said. Hauser said he was confident in the study's
methodology.
The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, is Apple Inc v. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd et al, No. 11-1846.
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