It's an interesting battle, this one. Apple wants to protect its IP, and Samsung just makes great phones, using Google's Android.

Pinning Samsung down is Apple's challenge.

Apple and Samsung Case Is Proxy for Google and Android [online.wsj.com]

When Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. face off in a high-stakes patent trial Monday, there will be another elephant in the room: Google Inc.

"It really feels like Apple versus Google instead of Apple and the company whose name is on the suit," said Brian Love, a professor at Santa Clara University School of Law who specializes in patents.

Apple didn't sue Google, however, opting instead to attack the companies that manufacture Android phones. It declines to say why.

Smartphone Leaders Face Off in Court
.Patent lawyers say it is easier to make a case for monetary damages against companies that make handsets and tablets and sell them to consumers.