Samsung Has a Few Questions for Apple’s Design Team

With a July 2012 trial date set in its ongoing patent infringement battle with Apple, Samsung is gathering evidence to make its case. A top priority in that effort: Deposing members of Apple’s industrial design team. Among them are design chief Jonathan Ive, the guy behind a decade of product hits from the iPod to the iPad; Christopher Stringer, who helped design the first iPod; and Shin Nishibori, who holds a number of high-profile Apple design patents, including a few related to the iPod nano, MacBook Air and iPhone 4.

These depositions were originally to be completed by Nov. 1, but as Edible Apple notes, that deadline was extended last month when Samsung learned that the witnesses would be unavailable prior to that date.

Now, Apple has until December 1 to make them available to Samsung for questioning, though the Korean company best steel itself for some harsh answers. After all, the suit Apple has brought against Samsung focuses on alleged infringment of seven user-interface patents, three design patents, three violations of trade-dress rights, and six icon trademarks. Ive and Co. presumably have a lot to say about all of them.