There could be a problem with the jury in the Apple v Samsung trial as it seems the foreman of the California jury owns smart phone patents, notes “Macworld UK” (http://macte.ch/VNPGj). However, both Apple and Samsung vetted the jury before the trial.
Velvin Hogan’s 2002 patents cover a “personal video recording/storage apparatus for downloading streaming video and data contents from a number of sources and storing the video files to an internal storage device, such as a disk drive,” notes “Macworld UK.” These video files can be “retrieved, processed, and provided for viewing on demand at a later time.”
“The Daily Mail” (http://macte.ch/5Rihv) claims that the disclosure has raised a huge potential conflict of interest. The article suggests that if he were biased in any way towards Apple it could have had a big influence on jury’s decision.
“The disclosure raises a huge potential conflict of interest as it is not clear if the patent has ever been bought or used by any tech companies — not least Apple or Samsung,” writes “The Daily Mail.” “Hogan, 67, also played a crucial role in the jury’s decision to rule against Samsung in the civil trial and used his experience with patents to guide them.”