Patent Trial of the Century: A Must-Follow Event

After only a few days the Patent Trial of the Century between Apple and Samsung is turning out to be a must-follow event for tech watchers.

The iPad and iPhone were center stage (along with questions about whether Samsung stole ideas from them for their own phones and tablets). There were lines to get in. Security. Detail-hungry reporters from around the globe. Apple execs under the spotlight and a smattering of geekerati.

But there was one big difference: Imagine an Apple product launch at which Apple's promoters-in-chief were required to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Intellectual property is an arcane topic, and both Apple and Samsung will continue to be successful regardless of the outcome. However, anyone who is interested in how the smartphone came to be and how secretive Apple makes its decisions will have a lot to pick over.

Scott Forstall and Phil Schiller were on the stand.

In addition, there was one big reveal: despite Steve Jobs' publicly stated antipathy toward a smaller iPad, an e-mail from software Senior VP Eddie Cue showed that a 7" model has been considered at Apple's highest level at least 18 months ago:

Having used a Samsung Galaxy, I tend to agree with many of the comments below (except moving off the iPad). I believe there will be a 7" market and we should do one. I expressed this to Steve several times since Thanksgiving and he seemed very receptive the last time. I found email, books, facebook and video very compelling on a 7". Web browsing is definitely the weakest point, but still usable.

One perhaps-unintended cost of the trial is that Apple's disclosure of its inner workings may prove to be more damaging to Apple than Samsung's purported infringement. Another irony is that it is becoming clear that what separates Apple from everyone else is its unique combination of people, processes, and patents, and not any one thing that imitators can focus on and duplicate.

[Case in point: Ron Johnson, creator of the Apple Store which has been "hailed as the fastest retail success in history", is having a rough time transplanting his ideas to J.C. Penney.]