Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Vs Samsung Dispute Looks Set for Jury Decision

The legal dispute between Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung, being fought in a federal court in San Jose, looks set to be decided by a 10-member jury as both companies reported that they had made no progress in narrowing the scope of their patent-related disputes.

The trial, which started on July 30, is nearing closure with both companies having finished off their preliminary arguments for the defence and prosecution. Next week will see the closing arguments and the jury deliberations.

Presiding Judge Luc Koh had told the companies that they should try to talk to each other and arrive at an out-of-court settlement or failing that, to simplify the scope of their patent claims to make it easier for the jury members to arrive at their decision.

“The parties have met and conferred about case narrowing, but have not been able to narrow their cases further,” according to a joint filing signed by attorneys on both sides. The filing didn’t refer to talks between the CEOs, Tim Cook at Apple and his counterpart at Samsung, Kwon Oh Hyun.

Get Complete Analysis on The Ongoing Patent case Here 

The Spokesmen for both the companies however declined to comment on the filing.

Those who have been keenly watching the arguments and evidence did not hold out much hope of the two technology giants being able to settle the dispute on their own.

While the legal battle in San Jose has become high profile, the two companies are engaged in disputes about a dozen courts spanning four continents. Apple is seeking to make permanent a preliminary ban it won in court in San Jose on U.S. sales of a Samsung tablet, and to extend the ban to Samsung smartphones.

Meanwhile shares in Apple rose to record high on Friday on anticipation that the company has started production of its iPad Mini.

Apple shares rose 1.85 percent to record highs of $648.11 on the Nasdaq, taking its market cap to a record $602.3 billion at the close of trading. The stock has gained about two-thirds in 2012 so far.

The tablet market is set to see a lot of competition and Apple's work on the iPad Mini is in preparation for this.

Google had introduced the Nexus 7 tablet in June. Microsoft will debut with its Surface tablet later this year while Amazon will introduce the next version of its Kindle Fire soon.