Arjuna Siva, a former Apple engineer that now works at Google, testified during the court battle between Apple and Qualcomm. Apple says Siva helped invent technology during his tenure at Apple that Qualcomm patented without giving him credit. Siva’s testimony on Monday, however, told a different story.
CNET:
“I don’t think I’m claiming to be an inventor,” Siva, who now works at Google, told the court. He did say his participation inspired several elements of the technology that makes the boot-up process faster. “This was my idea,” he told the court. He also said he “surprised” and “upset” after Qualcomm filed for the patent.
Apple had argued last week that during its 2011 talks with Qualcomm, Siva co-developed technology that could be used to speed the process of reconnecting to the internet following a device reboot. Qualcomm eventually patented the technology, without naming Siva as a co-inventor. The modem maker had argued Siva had contributed “nothing at all” to the development of the technology.
Siva said he was simply proud that his ideas made it into Qualcomm’s final product:
“It’s something I really remember, and look back with fondness,” Siva said. “I was a kid two and a half years out of college. I thought it was a pretty big deal for me.”
Following Siva’s testimony, Apple expert witness Bill Lin argued the engineer should have been included on the patent, even though Siva doesn’t believe that’s true.
Siva’s testimony was a definite black mark for Apple’s case going forward, as the company is arguing Qualcomm is negligent in the way to goes about the patent process. This trial should end sometime this week. The San Diego firm is seeking damages for what it says is Apple’s infringing on three patents for technologies used in the iPhone.
