After Apple-Samsung Trial, Jury Weighs Google's Influence

The jury foreman in the high-profile patent trial between Apple and Samsung said the introduction of Google in the case raised questions in his mind about the iPhone maker's true motivations.

Tom Dunham, a former International Business Machines software executive, was the foreman of a four-man, four-woman jury that awarded Apple $119.6 million because Samsung infringed on three patents for software features of the iPhone. Dunham said the jury was curious about how Google affected Apple's motivation in this case. Samsung's smartphones and tablets use Google's Android operating system. Apple hasn't sued Google directly, but has sued Samsung and other device makers that use Android. "If you really feel that Google is the cause behind this, as I think everybody has observed, then don't beat around the bush," said Dunham, whose job at IBM was to oversee developers expected to file patents. "Let the courts decide. But a more direct approach may be something to think about." His comments suggest that Samsung lawyers succeeded with arguments that Samsung was merely a proxy for Apple's real target: Google and its Android operating system.