New evidence in the ongoing Apple and Samsung patent trial has come to the fore and revealed that Google agreed to cover some of Samsung's potential legal costs as protection against Apple's multibillion-dollar patent lawsuit. Apple disclosed emails and letters from two years ago showing that Google executives agreed to pay some of the legal costs if it loses its fight against Apple, and also offered to pay part of the damages. Google's help would extend to two of the five patents (relating to universal search) Apple alleges are being infringed by Samsung, and which are apparently worth $2.2 billion, an amount the Cupertino giant wants its Korean rival to pay up.
The deal between Samsung and Google isn't exactly surprising, as Samsung is already calling on Google engineers to prove in court that most of the patents Apple is suing them over have been a “core part of Android” since its early days, arguing that Apple should attack Google directly instead of Samsung. Samsung and Google have declined to comment, but it's likely Apple will be putting some focus on the matter in order to sway favor in its own direction in a trial that continues to reveal interesting bits of information that would otherwise have remained a secret.
