Edible Apple

Apple and Samsung’s US-based litigation on track for trial in July 2012. That being the case, depositions of some of Apple’s key iPhone inventors will be taking place relatively soon.

The inventors on Samsung’s radar include Jonathan Ive, Douglas Satzger, Shin Nishibori, and Christopher Stringer. Originally, these depositions were supposed to be completed by November 1. Samsung in mid-October, however, filed a motion seeking an extension due to the fact that the witnesses would be unavailable before then.

Samsung’s motion explained:

Mr. Satzger is a former Apple employee represented by separate counsel.  He is unable to sit for deposition before November 1 because, during the month of October, his lawyer has a full deposition schedule in a separate class action matter.

Mr. Nishibori is unable to sit for deposition before November 1 because he currently is on a voluntary leave of absence from Apple.

Mr. Ive is unable to sit for deposition before November 1 for personal reasons.

Mr. Stringer is unable to sit for deposition before November 1 because of work and scheduling conflicts.

Now Jony Ive is of course a familiar name, but who are the other inventors?

Doug Satzger worked at Apple for 12 years up until 2008. According to his LinkedIn profile he “managed and directed all creative aspect of color materials and finishes for product from the first iMac to the latest iPhone, iPods, iPad and MacBooks.”

Interestingly, he went to work for Palm in March of 2009 as their Senior Director of Industrial Design. We can only assume he’s now at HP.

Shin Nishibori is an industrial designer at Apple with an incredibly large number of design patents to his credit, with his name appearing on patents as varied as the iPod Nano, the MacBook Air, the iPhone 4 design, and even the design of Apple’s retail packaging.

Christopher Stringer is an equally prolific designer at Apple whose name has been appearing near the top of Apple patent filings for years.

Apple’s suit against Samsung in the US was first filed in April of 2011 and has since snowballed into a multitude of lawsuits that cover the globe. Apple steadfastly claims that Samsung’s lineup of smartphones and tablets “slavishly” copy the look and feel of Apple’s iOS. Samsung has since fired back with a number of countersuits seeking, quite unsuccessfully thus far, to ban the sale of iPhones and iPads.