Losing a court case is never fun, and it is decidedly less fun when the loss results in having to write really big checks.

Surely, a company that finds itself on the wrong side of a ruling has every right, and responsibility, to mitigate its losses, but do they have to be so nasty about it?

Apple vs. Samsung

Samsung certainly is not happy about the recent courtroom ruling that resulted in the Korean smartphone manufacturer owing Apple upwards of $1 billion in damages. Appearing just a little bitter, it appears Samsung is going to attack not just the ruling, but also the people behind it.

Seeking a retrial, Samsung has launched an offensive on the jury from this summer's blockbuster case, and it doesn't appear they are going to be nice about it.

In the filing to the court, Samsung hinted that there was jury misconduct because "no reasonable jury" could reached a verdict so overwhelmingly against them, and they were prepared to "subject all of the jurors to extra-judicial scrutiny and public criticism which they may find unwelcome and intrusive" in order to prove it.

I am coming for you, jury. All of you.

Apple responded to the filing, describing Samsung's claims as "baseless" and that the "jury misconduct motion frivolous on its face."

Apple also makes the point that Samsung had all of the jury information as far back as July, but is only claiming misconduct now when faced with writing a ten digit check. Cupertino admonishes Samsung for taking cheap shots, pointing out that Samsung's filings accidentially-on-purpose revealed seemingly unrelated and potentially embarrassing details of the jury foreman's private life, including a bankruptcy that occurred almost 20 years ago. 

Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents has it as "It's pretty clear that Samsung only took issue with the jury after it received a verdict that it understandably doesn't like."

Going after Apple in court is one thing, going after jury members is something else entirely. Sometimes sour grapes really have a bite to them.

Apple vs. Motorola + Samsung

Last Friday a German court found that Samsung and Motorola were not infringing on several Apple-owned patents. The Mannheim court ruled against Apple's claim that a patent, covering how a devices handles data depending on how many fingers are on the touchscreen, was being infringed by the two Android manufacturers.

This patent is certainly not the biggest gun in Apple's arsenal, with UK and Dutch courts previously rejecting Cupertino's claims of abuse on this one, and the German court was skeptical about this case from the beginning.

We Didn't Lose!

There remain, of course, dozens of lawsuits involving Apple and Android around the world, and there is a big difference between losing a case as a defendant -- and having to write ten digit checks -- and losing a case as a plaintiff, where you just pick up and move on to the next one.

Law & Apple Discussed on a Podcast

Last Friday I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Gene Steinberg on his show "The Tech Night Owl LIVE" about this weekly column, the state of Apple's ongoing disagreements with Google, and how it all reflects the past thirty-plus years of Apple history and culture. Gene raised some excellent points and the conversation definitely opened some new perspectives. The interview is available here as a free download.

Adrian writes the weekly Law & Apple column and the occasional feature story for MacLife.com. Follow him on Twitter, or subscribe to him on Facebook.