Samsung takes on Apple over value of phone features

By Dan Levine

SAN JOSE, California (Reuters) - An Apple Inc expert witness testified on Friday that consumers would be willing to pay $100 for three patented smartphone features that are at issue in its high stakes trial against Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.

John Hauser, a marketing professor at MIT, said he surveyed consumers over the Internet about how much they would pay for some of the technology in the lawsuit, like scrolling and multitouch, which Apple claims Samsung stole from the U.S. company.

However, Samsung hammered Hauser on whether his study actually relates to real world customer decision-making.

Additionally, Apple patent portfolio director Boris Teksler described the company's licensing strategy, saying he could count "on one hand" the number of instances it has permitted other companies to use its design patents. Teksler did not name those companies.

Apple and Samsung are going toe-to-toe in a patents dispute mirroring a struggle for industry supremacy between two rivals that control more than half of worldwide smartphone sales.

The U.S. company 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. The Korean company, which is trying to expand in the United States, says Apple infringed some of its key wireless technology patents.

As the second week of trial drew to a close in a San Jose, California federal court, most of the testimony focused on technical patent features.

However, toward the end of the day Hauser said tablet consumers would be willing to pay $90 for the same patented features as what they would pay $100 for on smartphones. That information could be relevant when calculating potential damages for Apple, which is seeking over $2.5 billion from Samsung.