The ongoing patent battle raging against two of the biggest technology companies in the world appears to be taking its toll on Apple, reports Reuters.
An executive from the iPhone creator testified on Friday that Samsung had damaged the company’s reputation, marketing efforts and general business by deploying devices that copied the iPhone and iPad.
Phil Schiller, Marketing chief at Apple, said: “It’s much harder to create demand and people question our innovation and design skills like people never used to. Samsung have weakened the world view of Apple as this great designer and innovator.”
Apple previously accused Samsung of copying some iPhone features, such as using fingers to pinch and zoom, as well as design aspects like the flat black glass screen – winning more than $1 billion after convincing the jury of the misdemeanor.
Schiller - who has worked on Apple’s marketing since the iPhone’s launch in 2007 – said that Samsung had duplicated many aspects of Apple’s products, designs and features.
“The very essence of what Apple is about. If we don’t have that, we don’t have Apple’s business.”
William Price, an attorney for Samsung attempted to get Schiller to admit that Apple were not the first to create an attractive an easy-to-use device.
Asking: “Apple doesn’t own a patent on a product being beautiful or sexy, isn’t that correct?”
He then tried to get Schiller to concede that Samsung was the inspiration for the iPad mini, which was Apple’s answer to the number of smaller tablets released by the Korean electronics company.
Schiller commented: “This had nothing to do with competition. We were simply trying to make our product better.”
US District Judge Lucy Koh has set the closing arguments for this coming Tuesday.
The court battle has hit the headlines on a number of occasions. Previously being rumoured thatSamsung paid Apple $1 billion in coins. However this was later proved to be untrue.

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