Apple features worth up to $100 to Samsung buyers, witness says

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Late afternoon testimony sent Samsung's lawyers scrambling to come up with a quick way to explain what was unquestionably the shortest time from any expert witness on the stand.

Apple called upon Massachusetts Institute of Technology marketing professor John Hauser to display the results of a survey claiming that Samsung consumers would pay anywhere from $39 to $100 for Apple's patented features -- the same ones Samsung has been accused of infringing in the trial between the two tech giants.

After what was mere minutes on the stand showing just a single slide with the figures and listing off the prices, Samsung attorney Bill Price took offense to the brevity, and attempted to get it excluded, citing a lack of overall explanation. After U.S. District Court judge Lucy Koh denied the attempt, Price was forced to burn up critical trial time getting Hauser to explain what the study entailed.

The move, which was purely strategic on Apple's part, forces Samsung to use up some of its allotted time cross-examining Hauser, effectively getting him to explain -- for the first time to the court -- the methodology of the test, including its size and what types of questions were asked. Both sides get 25 hours to make their case, though Samsung has already surpassed Apple in time spent cross-examining witnesses. Next week the company gets to take its turn with its own witnesses, though is likely to already be past the halfway mark. [Read more]