Jurors in Apple vs. Samsung Get a Raise, but Still Woefully Underpaid

Among the dozens of motions and filings from Apple and Samsung this week was an order from Judge Lucy Koh giving the jurors in the case a pay raise.

Now, it’s not much of a raise, mind you. The seven men and two women hearing the case will now get $50 per day instead of $40 for each day they serve beyond 10 days.

That’s barely enough to cover lunch and parking, never mind missing work. And it’s truly a pittance when you compare that amount to the hundreds of dollars per hour being billed by the myriad attorneys, consultants and experts in the case.

Just this week, several of Apple’s experts testified they are being paid $500 per hour for their work in the case, and one can assume that many of the lawyers are somewhere in that ballpark.

You could argue that the lawyers and experts are being paid for their legal expertise, but it is the jurors who are being asked to wade through hours of testimony, sort through complexities of the law and technology, and render a verdict.

Not only are they being asked to evaluate whether patents are being infringed, they are also being asked to ascertain whether they should have been granted in the first place, essentially becoming underpaid patent-office employees in addition to poorly compensated jurists.

But at least they are getting a raise.

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