SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug 16 (Reuters) - A financial expert said
Apple Inc has overstated the profit margins earned by Samsung
Electronics Co Ltd for mobile products, an issue that goes to
the heart of the high profile patent trial between the two tech
companies.
Michael Wagner, an accountant who testified on Thursday for
Samsung, said Samsung's U.S. profits from the smartphones and
tablets targeted in the case should be calculated at about 12
percent, or about $519 million.
Earlier in the trial, an Apple expert witness testified the
U.S. margin was closer to 35.5 percent.
Apple and Samsung are going toe-to-toe in a patents dispute
that mirrors a bigger struggle for industry supremacy between
the rivals that control more than half of worldwide smartphone
sales.
Apple accuses Samsung of copying the design and some
features of its iPad and iPhone, and is asking for a sales ban
in addition to monetary damages. South Korea's Samsung, which is
trying to expand in the United States, says Apple infringed
several patents, including some for its key wireless technology.
If the nine member jury finds that Samsung violated Apple's
design patents, the damages Apple might recoup will partly
depend on how much profit Samsung earned during the period it
knew it should not be using the technology.
Earlier this week, Apple expert Terry Musika said Samsung
earned 35.5 percent margins from mid-2010 through March 2012, or
$8.16 billion in U.S. revenue. Apple is seeking over $2.5
billion overall in the case.
However, Wagner testified on Thursday that Musika did not
take into account many of Samsung's costs, including marketing,
which reduced the profits. His 12 percent figure assumes a
period beginning in April 2011 for most of the mobile products.
Under cross examination from Apple attorney Michael Jacobs,
Wagner acknowledged the cost information on which he relied had
been prepared by Samsung specifically in response to the Apple
litigation.
However, Wagner said Samsung had never needed to break out
such specifics before.
"I have no problem with the way they allocated costs,"
Wagner added.
The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of
California, is Apple Inc v. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd et al,
No. 11-1846.
(Reporting by Dan Levine)
Follow us on Twitter @ReutersLegal | Like us on Facebook