Exec: Apple offered Samsung patent deal

An Apple executive says Steve Jobs secretly offered Samsung a licensing deal for the U.S. firm's patented technology for touchscreen iPhones and tablets. Borks Teksler, director of patent licensing strategy at Apple, told a federal court jury in San Jose, Calif., Friday that in early 2010, Apple already suspected Samsung was infringing on its patents as it developed the Android phone and put together a royalty proposal for the South Korean company. Samsung supplied chips and other parts for Apple devices and also builds the popular Android smartphone, which uses a Google operating system and is a major competitor of the iPhone. Apple alleges the Android makes liberal and unauthorized use of Apple's patented technology. "We didn't understand how a trusted partner would build a copycat product like that," Teksler told the jury. Teksler said Jobs, who has since died, and current Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook met with Samsung executives in autumn 2010 and offered a deal in which Samsung would pay Apple $30 per phone and $40 per tablet in royalties, a deal Samsung turned down. Fortune magazine said the royalties would have amounted to as much as $288 million in 2010 alone. Apple has since sued for $2.5 billion in lost sales, an amount that could be trebled by the court if the jury rules in Apple's favor. The trial resumes Monday.