Google Agreed to Take Over Defense of Some Claims in Apple vs. Samsung Case

A lawyer for Google testified yesterday that the company has agreed to take over defense of some of the claims in the Apple vs. Samsung case and compensate Samsung should it lose on those claims, reports Re/code.

Apple played deposition testimony from Google lawyer James Maccoun, who verified emails in which Google agreed to provide partial or full indemnity with regard to four patents as well as to take over defense of those claims. Of the four patents Google over which offered to cover at least some costs, two were dropped from the case before the trial began. The two patents that remain in the case, the ’414 and ’959 patents, cover background synchronization and universal search, respectively.

Both representatives for Samsung and Google declined to comment on the matter.


Apple is suing Samsung for alleged infringement of five patents and is seeking damages of around $2 billion. Samsung says it is not infringing and even if it was the damages would be far less. Samsung has called Google witnesses as part of its defense; however, this news suggests that Google could be playing a larger role than previously thought.

Maccoun's testimony revealed references to emails between Google and Samsung that detailed Google's willingness to assist in Samsung's legal defense. Apple then read into a record a Samsung response from September 2012 in which it said it was not seeking compensation from anyone else.

If Google is offering indemnity to Samsung it would likely be for proprietary apps whose code cannot be changed by manufacturers, says the report.

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