California jury has questions as it deliberates smartphone lawsuit involving Apple, Samsung

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SAN JOSE, Calif. – Silicon Valley jurors deciding a patent-infringement lawsuit involving smartphone giants Apple and Samsung have submitted questions Wednesday to a judge just a few hours after beginning their first full day of deliberations.

The jury asked in a note what Apple founder Steve Jobs said when the company decided to file a lawsuit accusing Samsung of patent infringement.

Jurors also wanted to know if Jobs mentioned Google when considering the Samsung lawsuit, which was filed in 2012 several months after the Apple founder succumbed to cancer. Samsung phones use Google’s Android software, but the search giant isn’t a party to the lawsuit.

U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh told jurors no additional evidence is available to them beyond what was presented at the month-long trial.

Koh answered similarly to questions about Samsung’s chief executive officer’s reaction when informed that Apple executives had complained to executives at the South Korean company about alleged patent infringement.

Apple Inc. has accused Samsung Electronics Co. of copying key features of the iPhone in creating its own lines of smartphones. Samsung has countersued, claiming two of its patents were infringed.

Apple is seeking $2.2 billion, and Samsung asked jurors for a little more than $6 million. The four men and four women of the jury began deliberating Tuesday afternoon after a month-long trial.

A previous jury in 2012 ordered Samsung to pay Apple $930 million after determining that some two dozen older-generation Samsung products contained features copied from Apple.