Tuesday, 21 August 2012

Opposition to taking NHS brand abroad is 'a new low for Labour'

Opposition to taking NHS brand abroad is 'a new low for Labour'

Government hits back at claims its plans are 'rampant commercialisation'

Labour faced charges of hypocrisy yesterday after criticising government plans to export the NHS "brand" around the world to make money for hospitals in the UK.

The Independent revealed yesterday that ministers planned to set up a new body to help hospitals to launch fee-paying branches overseas. Labour described the plan as "rampant commercialisation" of the Health Service and called for it to be scrapped.

But it has now emerged that Gordon Brown's government tried to set up a profit-making arm called NHS Global to "maximise its international potential… and bring benefits back to the UK taxpayer".

Its purpose was to "market valuable assets across the system overseas, ranging from innovative products and professional expertise to provision of NHS services and treatments". However, it failed to take off and was quietly scrapped.

Yesterday the Government accused Labour of "campaigning against his own policy".

"Andy Burnham has sunk to a new low of political hypocrisy," the Health Minister Anne Milton said. "He has jumped on every passing bandwagon – now he is attacking the ability of hospital doctors to raise money for NHS patients. This knee-jerk opportunism would strip some NHS hospitals of up to £40m per year."

Jamie Reed, Labour's shadow Health Minister, said: "At a time when staff are losing their jobs and waiting times are rising, the Government's priority should be sorting out the mess it has created in our NHS. Under David Cameron we're seeing a rampant commercialisation of the NHS. He needs to get a grip and start focusing on patients, not profits."

Under the new plans, hospitals will be encouraged to set up profit-making branches abroad to raise funds for patients at home and raise the international profile of the health service. Officials from UKTI (UK Trade and Investment), the government-funded international trade facilitator, and the Department of Health will launch the joint scheme this autumn, which will aim to build links between hospitals wishing to expand and foreign governments that want access to British health expertise. The NHS Confederation, which represents hospital managers, has backed the move to set up the new body, which will be called Healthcare UK.

David Stout, who is the confederation's deputy chief executive, insisted the plan would not "divert attention away from local health services".

"This is a real opportunity," he said. "The NHS has always been well-regarded internationally; we've often had international companies and organisations coming to talk to the NHS about how can we help, but we've never been very systematic about how we respond to those opportunities. I don't think this is about distorting what the NHS offers to UK citizens, this is about how we can exploit the brand of the NHS internationally."

Tim Smart, the chief executive of King's College Hospital and a member of the network that represents NHS Foundation Trusts, said that it could provide valuable income at a time when central budgets are being constrained.

"In these harsh economic times, hospitals have to look for other sources of income beyond the NHS to make their services viable and sustainable," he said.

But the Patients' Association has raised concerns that pressing ahead with these plans to sell NHS services abroad could be a "distraction" at a time of upheaval in the health service at home.

from The Independent

Akin Says He Is Staying in Senate Race, Defying GOP

Christian Gooden/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, via Associated Press

Representative Todd Akin spoke in Jefferson City, Mo., in August.

WASHINGTON — Representative Todd Akin on Tuesday ignored a deadline to abandon Missouri’s Senate race and vowed to remain the Republican nominee in defiance of his party’s leaders, including the presidential standard-bearer, Mitt Romney.

“I believe the defense of the unborn and a deep respect for life, which underlie all of America, those are important parts of who we are. And they’re not things to run away from,” Mr. Akin said on the radio program hosted by Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor.

Mr. Akin touched off a firestorm of criticism after he said in a television interview on Sunday that in instances of what he called “legitimate rape,” women’s bodies somehow blocked an unwanted pregnancy.

The congressman’s decision to remain in the race against Claire McCaskill, the incumbent Democratic senator, came the same day the Republican Party’s platform committee endorsed a constitutional ban on abortion that does not include an explicit exception for rape.

Less than a week before the national party gathers in Tampa, Fla., to formally nominate Mr. Romney as its presidential candidate, the national conversation has turned sharply to the kind of social issues the party has tried to avoid.

Mr. Akin is no stranger to incendiary comments. “We can’t run from our shadows every time someone says ‘abortion,’ ” he told Dana Loesch, a conservative talk radio host, on Tuesday.

For months, Mr. Romney has struggled to stay focused on the economy while trying to narrow a deficit that polls show he has with women in the presidential race. But the week’s events have set back that effort and ensured a media spotlight for Mr. Akin and his ardent supporters in the social conservative movement.

The Akin showdown has raised fears among Republicans that they could fall short of winning control of the Senate and has magnified the schism within the party between activists nationwide still driven by core conservative values and party leaders in Washington, who are wooing independents and Democrats concerned about the struggling economy.

While virtually the entire party apparatus in Washington and a lineup of former Republican senators from Missouri turned on him, Mr. Akin rallied support among grass-roots voters, and he said that would propel him to victory.

Ione Dines, 72, from Marshfield, Mo., a Republican activist for 45 years and a Missouri state committee member since about 2006, said she was “just devastated” by her party’s actions.

“I am so disappointed in our national and our state committee when we throw our own under the bus,” she said.

Party leaders remained just as resolute in their demands for Mr. Akin to leave the race. Mr. Romney ramped up his appeal, saying, “Today, his fellow Missourians urged him to step aside, and I think he should accept their counsel and exit the Senate race.”

Both Karl Rove, co-founder of the deep-pocketed Republican group Crossroads GPS, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee made clear they would withhold support for his candidacy, even though a loss in Missouri could jeopardize any chance Republicans had for capturing the Senate.

“By staying in this race, Congressman Akin is putting at great risk many of the issues that he and others in the Republican Party are fighting for,” said Brian Walsh, a Senate campaign committee spokesman.

The political repercussions of Mr. Akin’s decision are still unclear, but a race that Republicans need to win and thought they had sewn up had clearly shifted. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report on Tuesday flatly declared Mr. Akin “unelectable.”

But the Rothenberg Political Report, also nonpartisan, was more cautious, moving its evaluation of the race from tilting Republican to a pure tossup. The Rothenberg report had been prepared to declare the race firmly leaning Republican, had one of Mr. Akin’s rivals in the Aug. 7 primary, former state Treasurer Sarah Steelman and John Brunner, a businessman, won the nomination, said Stuart Rothenberg, the report’s editor.

Mr. Rothenberg said Mr. Akin would have trouble raising campaign money and appealing to swing voters. But “more than anything else, we thought, ‘We’re in the middle of firestorm.’ We want to wait to see what it looks like in a couple of weeks.”

Mr. Akin found support among anti-abortion activists and Christian conservatives, in Missouri and around the country. “Missouri Right to Life supports Congressman Akin’s defense of the life of an innocent unborn child conceived by rape,” declared Pam Fichter, president of the group’s political action committee.

“No one is speaking up on his behalf — this is a travesty,” said Rick Mathes, executive director of the Mission Gate Prison Ministry in Chesterfield, Mo., and an acquaintance of Mr. Akin’s. “With all this negative publicity, it’ll have a reverse spin, just watch. More people will be getting out to vote for him.”

In the radio interview with Mr. Huckabee, Mr. Akin cast himself as “Braveheart,” pilloried for “one word and one sentence on one day” by a cowardly establishment.

But for an increasing number of Republicans, that one word — “legitimate” — in that one sentence, “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down,” was too much to bear.

Roy Blunt, Missouri’s Republican senator, spoke personally with Mr. Akin. Then when his appeals got nowhere, he helped organize a joint statement from himself and four former Missouri Republican senators: John Ashcroft, John C. Danforth, Christopher S. Bond and Jim Talent.

“We do not believe it serves the national interest for Congressman Todd Akin to stay in this race,” it said. “The issues at stake are too big, and this election is simply too important.”

More Republicans piled on, including several senators Mr. Akin hopes to join as colleagues: Senators Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Richard Burr of North Carolina and Olympia J. Snowe of Maine all called for him to step aside.

But the national party’s public pressure campaign rankled some Republicans in Missouri. Violet Corbett, chair of the Johnson County Republican Central Committee and a member of the Republican State Committee, said she surveyed her county’s central committee on Monday night. The outcome: 31 people wanted Mr. Akin to leave the race; 2 wanted him to stay.

But by Tuesday, she had begun getting phone calls from fellow Republicans in the state who seemed put off by so much pressure from Washington. “They don’t know why we should be letting national tell us what to do here in Missouri,” she said.

Mr. Akin also received some support from his Democratic opponent, Ms. McCaskill, who used a round of advertisements in the last days of the Republican primary campaign to attack his opponents and boost his image.

Amid the calls for him to step aside, she told a St. Louis television station it would be a “radical thing” for the national party “to try to force someone who had won an election honestly off the ballot just because you think you want to pick another candidate.”

Mr. Akin released an advertisement asking the voters of Missouri to forgive him for saying “legitimate rape” does not lead to pregnancy. “Rape is an evil act,” the congressman said, speaking directly to the camera. “I used the wrong words in the wrong way, and for that I apologize.”

Republican Party officials had hoped to push Mr. Akin out by the first deadline, set by Missouri law, at 5 p.m. on Tuesday but it passed with him taking no action. The candidate can still take his name off the ballot up to Sept. 25, but the withdrawal could be contested by Missouri’s secretary of state, a Democrat, or any election authority in the state, even one at the city or county level. That is a fight Republicans want to avoid.

Monica Davey and Steven Yaccino contributed reporting from Chicago.

from nytimes.com

Celtic in the box seat but Neil Lennon says Helsingborgs tie not over

Neil Lennon salutes the travelling fans in Sweden. Picture: SNS

By STEPHEN HALLIDAY

Published on Wednesday 22 August 2012 01:26

NEIL Lennon last night tried to dampen the perception that his Celtic side have already effectively secured a place in the group stage of the Champions League, insisting their play-off round tie against Helsingborgs remains in the balance despite a fine 2-0 first-leg win in Sweden.

Goals from Kris Commons and Georgios Samaras put the Scottish champions in a dominant position which few will conceive could be overturned by Helsingborgs at Celtic Park next Wednesday night.

But Lennon will not consider the prospects of his club tasting Champions League group stage football for the first time in four years until his players are able to complete the task in hand.

“You can ask me that question if we get through next week,” said Lennon. “I don’t want to get ahead of myself. We are not there yet but we have given ourselves a real chance.

“There is still a lot to play for in the tie as far as I’m concerned. There is enough there to worry me. Helsingborgs were very impressive. But in the end we hit the bar twice and could have put the tie out of reach on the counter-attack near the end. We could have had three or four, but that might have put a flattering scoreline on it.

“Our home record is very, very good. We will set the team up a little bit differently next week and I’d like to think we will be in the ascendancy in the home game. It’s a great result for us  to take into the second game. Two goals and a clean sheet is more than I could have asked for, really.

“It’s up there as one of my best results as a manager but there is still a lot of work to do. We’ve still got 90 minutes to play. But we will be a week fitter. There are a few bumps and bruises tonight and there might be a casualty count in the morning.

“It’s been a hectic schedule for the players, which makes their performance all the more remarkable. They are pretty grounded boys and they know they have a big night ahead of them next week. There is a great prize at the end of it for them. You could see what it means to them. They might have to weather a bit of a storm again next week but I’m certain we will have more possession in the home leg.

“I’m really proud of them tonight and delighted for them. I’ve had my time in the Champions League as a player. Now I want them to feel it and experience it. It will enhance them as players. But they know they still have one more game to go to make it happen.”

Celtic had to spend lengthy spells on the back foot after Commons’ second-minute opener, goalkeeper Fraser Forster making several fine saves before Samaras put them firmly in control of the tie with his 75th minute strike. “It was a hell of a game,” added Lennon. “It was played at a frenetic pace. We got off to a dream start, which isn’t like us. Normally we are a goal down after two or three minutes away from home in Europe!

“We took our foot off the pedal a little bit after the good start. We had to rely on Fraser making a couple of great saves. You can see why we pursued him so vigorously during the summer. He’s capable of doing that.

“We gathered ourselves at half-time and were a lot better in the second half, with James Forrest coming on and giving us a good out ball on the right. We restricted Helsingborgs to shots from outside the box.

“We got too deep for the last 20 minutes of the first half. Beram Kayal was struggling with an ankle injury but we always had James up our cuff. Even before the game, we were thinking we’d have to use him at some stage. He hadn’t played for three weeks and only had one training session, but he gave us such a shot in the arm when he came on.

“It’s great having him back and we’ll have Victor Wanyama back for the second leg as well after suspension. That will bolster the midfield.”

Lennon, who will today assess injuries sustained by Kayal, Joe Ledley and Thomas Rogne, was gratified to see his team notch up a fourth successive away game without defeat in Europe.

“They are not afraid of playing away from home,” he said. “They certainly know how to do it. It’s pleasing to go four games undefeated away in Europe.

“I’m more concerned about the home record now. It’s the big one for us next week. We will have to play possibly even better next week because I’m sure Helsingborgs will have some say in the tie.”

That is certainly the belief of Helsinborgs coach Age Hareide who is convinced the Swedish champions can pull off what would be one of the most eye-catching second leg comebacks in recent Champions League history.

“It’s definitely not over,” said Hareide. “If we get the first goal at Celtic Park, and take our chances better than we did tonight, then we can still go through. Celtic’s centre-halves made some mistakes tonight and gave us chances. They will probably play again next week, so we will get chances in Glasgow as well.

“Celtic will think it is over and that they are ready for the group stage. Even if they say they don’t, in their minds they will feel that way. That’s good for us. The pressure is still on Celtic.”

from scotsman.com

Tottenham confirm signing of Emmanuel Adebayor from Manchester City in deal worth £9m

Tottenham have completed the permanent signing of Emmanuel Adebayor, with the deal eventually concluded after the Togo striker accepted a significant severance package from Manchester City. They also paved the way for the departure of defender Michael Dawson to Queens Park Rangers.

By Jeremy Wilson

from telegraph.co.uk

Verizon Is Said To Offer Nokia Windows 8 Phone This Year

Verizon Wireless plans to sell a new Nokia (NOK1V) Oyj phone with Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)’s Windows 8 software this year, marking the first time it has released a Windows device since May 2011, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

Microsoft and Nokia are holding a press conference on Sept. 5 in New York to discuss Nokia’s Lumia brand of Windows phones. While Verizon isn’t expected to be part of that event, the carrier intends to roll out a Nokia phone later, said the person, who asked not to be named because the plans are private. That would give Nokia a new beachhead at the top U.S. carrier, building on its longstanding relationship with No. 2 AT&T (T) Inc.

Verizon is looking to lessen its dependence on Apple Inc.’s iPhone and devices running Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Android software, which dominate the smartphone market. For Microsoft and Nokia, meanwhile, the move would bolster efforts to regain market share. The Nokia phone would also provide fresh ammunition against the latest iPhone, which people familiar with the matter expect to be introduced on Sept. 12.

Brenda Raney, a spokeswoman for Basking Ridge, New Jersey- based Verizon Wireless (VZ), declined to comment, as did Erica Fields at Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft. Christopher Hollis, a U.S. spokesman for Espoo, Finland-based Nokia, also declined to comment.

Verizon released its only current Windows Phone, the Trophy from HTC Corp., more than a year ago, and it hasn’t been a top seller. Microsoft and Verizon also stumbled with the 2010 release of the Kin phone, which was scrapped after less than two months in Verizon stores. While that experience strained relations, the companies have made strides in improving the partnership since then, the person said.

AT&T Relationship

For now, Nokia is more closely tied with AT&T, which introduced the Lumia 900 Windows Phone on April 8. AT&T Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson has promoted the device and uses it personally.

Nokia’s first Windows Phone in the U.S. was the Lumia 710, which debuted at T-Mobile USA in January. Both the AT&T and T- Mobile Lumia devices rely on Microsoft’s older-generation Windows Phone 7 software.

Microsoft is releasing the Windows Phone 8 operating system as a companion piece to its new software for personal computers and tablets. The phone software will be able to run on devices with speedier, dual-core chips and high-definition screens, Microsoft has said.

In July, a Nokia vice president told the tech news website Neowin that Nokia’s Lumia Windows phones would soon be available on Verizon.

Microsoft had a 3.5 percent share of the mobile operating system market in the second quarter, with shipments of 5.4 million, according to research firm IDC. That’s dwarfed by Android’s more than 68 percent and Apple’s 16.9 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dina Bass in New York at dbass2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net

from bloomberg.com

Installing Windows 8 on your old PC could turn it into Greased Lightning

Summary: My ZDNet colleague and long-time friend Steven J. Vaughn-Nichols thinks that old PCs need Microsoft's latest operating system upgrade like a hole in the head. I fervently disagree.

I've known ZDNet columnist Steven J. Vaughn-Nichols going on 16 years now. Along with Mary Jo Foley, who I've known for the same amount of time, he's a writer I have utmost respect for, particuarly when it comes to writing about Open Source and Networking technologies.

In many instances, we agree about a lot of things. But over the years Steven has become shall we say... not particularly enamored with Microsoft. He's focused a lot of his writing in recent years about Linux, and he's the closest thing we have here on ZDNet to being a pure Open Source evangelist.

This is not a bad thing, this is just simply stating what he is. Saying that Steven is an Open Source evangelist and dislikes and distrusts Microsoft is like saying that Seals, which subsist on a diet of fish and crustaceans, have developed an extreme dislike for Great White Sharks.

Sorry, I spent most of my free time watching the Discovery Channel this weekend.

So when Steven tells you that Windows 8 "belongs on older PCs like a fish needs a bicycle" you should regard this as coming from a position of extreme prejudice.

Be it as it may I also am a Linux advocate. I wrote about it exclusively in print for ten years.

However, I also make my living integrating large scale multi-vendor systems for the largest IT services company in the world, so I can't afford to hate Microsoft. It's not a position I would enjoy being in anyway.

And despite the fact I have been known to throw a couple of grenades at Redmond from time to time, I actually enjoy using their products.

So the question remains -- does Windows 8 belong on older PCs? It really depends on what you define as "Old" and what lengths you are willing to go through to gain the benefits from the new operating system.

I want to first discard the notion that the new Windows 8 user interface (that we just got used to calling "Metro" but apparently we can't call it that anymore) is bad. It isn't bad, it's just different.

And yes, it requires a considerable amount of user adjustment in order to be productive with it, even for a veteran PC user like myself.

Whether the new UI will succeed in its current form and what Microsoft may have to do if it doesn't is another discussion entirely. But let's just take that off the table for a moment and return to the subject if upgrading to the new OS is appropriate for an older PC.

So in addition to catching up with Shark Week on my DVR, I decided to install Windows 8 on several older PCs this weekend.

My victims were a 12" Lenovo X200 Centrino 2 ultralight laptop, my primary circa-2009 dual quad-Opteron "Frankenputer" workstation, my wife's Dell Studio 17" laptop (a Vista-certified system that was purchased just prior to Windows 7's release) and a Dell Precision 530 desktop with an Intel Core 2 Quad which I originally purchased from Costco for the express purposes of testing Windows Vista four years ago.

None of these machines are current or state of the art. In fact I would say they are a decent representative sample of the type and vintage of Windows PC that most people actually own.

Every single one of these machines installed Windows 8's release code without a hitch -- all the devices on the machines were recognized with the exception of two external peripherals -- an Epson wireless MFD Printer/Scanner that needed the usual 3rd-party Windows 7 drivers and a portable Lenovo USB Displaylink 2nd monitor for my laptop which actually had beta drivers avaliable on the Displaylink.org web site.

Even the on-board Authentec fingerprint scanner for biometric login on my Lenovo X200 was automatically recognized.

On every single one of these systems, the performance improvement over Windows 7 is noticeable. Boot up is much, much faster as well as general application and network responsiveness, particularly with the new Internet Explorer 10 browser. And all of my Windows 7-compatible application software is working perfectly.

A Fish with bicycle wheels? Hell, this upgrade is automatic, it's systematic, it's hydromatic. It will turn your old PC into Greased Lightning.

How to uninstall Windows 8

Return to Windows 7 from Windows 8

By Matt Egan | PC Advisor | 21 August 12

We explain your options if you wish to uninstall Windows 8 after making the upgrade or dual-booting.

Windows 8 is set to launch on October 26 and many PC, tablet and laptop users have already installed the Consumer Preview or the Release Preview. But Windows 8 is a big change from Windows 7, and won't be for everyone: particularly those who wish to continue using only mouse and keyboard.

What happens if you've installed Windows 8, but want to go back to Windows 7, or even Windows XP (we're assuming no-one is keen on returning to Vista)? Here we explain your options if you wish to uninstall Windows 8, in a variety of circumstances.

Before we start it is worth pointing out that Microsoft makes it very clear that rolling back a Windows 8 installation is not a simple task. The upgrade to Windows 8 is made fantastically easy, but the pay-off is that uninstalling takes some doing.

On the download page for the Windows 8 Release Preview Microsoft says: "If you decide to go back to your previous operating system, you'll need to reinstall it from the recovery or installation media that came with your PC, which is typically DVD media.

"If you don’t have recovery media, you might be able to create it from a recovery partition on your PC using software provided by your PC manufacturer. Check the support section of your PC manufacturer's website for more information. After you install Windows 8, you won’t be able to use the recovery partition on your PC to go back to your previous version of Windows."

And although Microsoft hasn't explicitly said so, we expect that the situation will be the same with the final release of Windows 8.

So if you are considering overwriting your Windows 7 install just to try Windows 8, think carefully. If in doubt, install Windows 8 alongside your current operating system, or not at all. And whatever else you do, back up everything on your PC before you make the move. You'll never regret backing up.

For more on the changes in Windows 8 and how to use them visit Windows 8 Advisor. For detailed advice on installing Windows 8 Release Preview, read our article: How to install Windows 8.

Delete Windows 8 from a second drive partition

Congratulations if you took notice of this warning, and created a second partition in order to install Windows 8 on that partition. This dualboot option means your original installation of Windows 7 or XP remains on the primary drive and you can play at using Windows 8 without committing. If that is the case it is pretty easy to uninstall Windows 8 while retaining your old operating system and data. (For more, see: How to dual boot Windows 8.)

First of all, back up your entire PC (see: How to back up your PC and laptop). Be especially careful to copy off any files and folders that you need to keep, and any that are in your Windows 8 partition.

Once you are done boot into the OS you want to keep - we're assuming it is Windows 7. Go to Start, Run, msconfig (or search 'msconfig' in the search bar, and click the .exe that appears). Navigate to the Boot tab, and highlight the Windows 8 boot option. Click 'Delete'. Then highlight the Windows 7 boot option. Click 'Set As Default'. You can now close msconfig.

Now you have deleted Windows 8 from your PC's Boot process, you can delete the Windows 8 data. Go to Start, Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Computer Management. Find 'Disk Management' in the lefthand pane, and click it.

Find the partition you created for the Windows 8 install. Right-click on it and select 'Delete Volume'. Once this is done, if you right-click on the empty volume and select 'Shrink Volume'. Close the module, and reboot the system. Your Windows 8 partition is now no more.

Uninstall Windows 8 if you installed it over Windows 7

If you installed Windows 8 after formatting or deleting your Windows 7 installation, the only way to go back is to wipe over the Windows 8 install. You need to do a clean install of Windows 7, which will wipe your PC. So you will need Windows 7 installation media (and a product key). And you need to back up all your files to a separate drive. Your PC will be wiped clean in the move.

Boot using the Windows 7 DVD or USB drive. Then format the Windows 8 partition, and install your copy of Windows.

Read our How to install Windows 7 from a USB flash drive for detailed instructions on creating, booting from and installing an OS from a Windows 7 USB stick.

from pcadvisor.co.uk

Apple-Samsung patent battle nears end

They're done. Apple and Samsung have each given their closing arguments in the epic patent trial over whether the South Korean mobile maker infringed on Cupertino's iPhone patents. For the nine members of the jury, however, the next phase of the ordeal has only just begun.
Weighing the three weeks of testimony to decide whether Samsung truly infringed patents and what damages, if any, it owes Apple will be no easy matter, as the court proceedings on Tuesday demonstrated.
Judge Lucy Koh began the morning in her San Jose courtroom by reading her instructions to the jury aloud for the record, the San Jose Mercury News reports – all 109 pages of them.
Reading through the 84 instructions took just over two hours, during which time Judge Koh repeatedly gave the jurors short "stand up" breaks, as she said, "to make sure we're alive."
The first sections of the list were devoted to basic instructions for jury conduct, such as how to deliberate, how to communicate with the court, how to judge the credibility of witnesses, and the burden of proof by a preponderance of evidence.
Judge Koh then moved on to more specific matters related to the case, such as when the jury should consider that a patent claim has been infringed, and the difference between "utility" and "design" patents (both are involved in Apple v. Samsung).
She adjourned the court for lunch at 11:40am, leaving the bewildered jurors to ponder the 20-pageverdict form they would have to confront in their deliberations, which Judge Koh said she expected to begin on Wednesday.
The form, which asks jurors to fill out multiple tables with information on precisely which Samsung divisions or Samsung products may or may not have infringed on which specific models of iPhone or iPad, looks roughly four times as complicated as your average passport application.

Snippet of the jury verdict form in the Apple v. Samsung patent case

Just one of 33 questions on the jury verdict form. (Click to see full form)

Perhaps the most straightforward item on the verdict form is Question 22: "What is the total dollar amount that Apple is entitled to receive from Samsung on the claims on which you have ruled in favor of Apple?"
On that seemingly simple question hangs much of the trial, however. The nine jurors will have to agree on exactly "the amount of damages that Apple has proven at trial with reasonable certainty," according to Judge Koh's instructions. Some observers fear a hung jury, which could bring the proceedings back to square one.

Apple's and Samsung's last words

When Judge Koh returned from lunch, the closing arguments began in earnest, with Apple lawyer Harold McElhinny leading the charge for the fruity firm.
McElhinny described the iPhone as "possibly the most famous product in the world," explaning that original iPhones are on display in the Smithsonian Museum and showing the jury a photo of the Jesus Phone on the cover of Time magazine.
He said the iPhone "shocked the world" and repeated a claim, lifted from Samsung internal documents, that the South Korean firm had experienced a "crisis of design" upon beholding it.
The Apple attorney held no punches throughout his argument, describing Samsung phones as "knockoffs" and saying that the mobile maker "sat with the iPhone and copied every detail, feature by feature."
He said that Apple execs tried to contact top Samsung people about the problem, but the Samsung higher-ups wouldn't take their calls. "Instead they sent you lawyers," McElhinny said, indicating his opponents in the courtroom.
McElhinny concluded his arguments by saying that Samsung had sold 22 million "infringing" devices, netting itself $8bn in revenue – and that therefore the damages awarded Apple should be large, in the realm of $2.75bn.
Samsung attorney Charles Verhoeven then took the floor to try to knock down Apple's claims, calling the fruity firm's damages estimate "ridiculous" and noting that Apple did not produce a single witness who claimed to have been deceived or confused by Samsung's marketing or the design of its handsets.
"The reason Apple didn't provide any evidence of deception or confusion is because there isn't any," Verhoeven told the court.
Pointing out the numerous reporters in the court to the jury, Verhoeven asked them to consider why the press was covering the case so closely. "Your decision, if it goes Apple's way, could change the way competition works in this country," he said.
Verhoeven characterized the similarities between Apple's and Samsung's products as to be expected, saying all smartphones are rectangular, all have rounded corners, and so on. "There is no bad intent, there is no copying," he said, adding that Apple did not truly invent the technologies and design features it is now claiming to own.
Apple attorney Bill Lee – he who does not smoke crack – next took the floor to rebut Samsung's claims. According to Lee, the question was not whether Samsung infringed Apple's patents, but "whether they get a get-out-of-jail-free card."
"Apple took five years to bring this revolution to us," Lee said, referring to the smartphone market that began with the iPhone launch. "Samsung took three months to copy it."
Lee reiterated Apple's claims of patent infringement and said that Samsung's patent counter-claims were invalid, because the handset maker had asserted them in ways that violate antitrust law.
In his own rebuttal, Samsung's Verhoeven insisted that the South Korean firm did indeed "play by the rules," contrary to Apple's claims, and that all Samsung wants is to compete freely in the marketplace, without interference from Apple's lawyers. "Let the innovators compete," he said.
And with that, the final arguments in the nearly month-long patent trial came to a close. The jury will be sequestered beginning on Wednesday at 9am PST, but given the many claims and issues in the case, deliberations are likely to be anything but swift. ®

from .theregister.co.uk

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Tuesday, 21 August 2012