A jury has been seated for the mammoth Apple v. Samsung patent case beginning in San Jose, after a long day of questioning about the jurors' occupations, families, and what kind of smartphones and other devices they use.

Out of more than 70 potential jurors who filed into the courthouse this morning, a jury of seven men and three women were selected. They include an electrical engineer who worked in hard drives for over 35 years, a homemaker, a construction worker, a young unemployed man, an insurance agent, an ex-Navy avionics technician, a systems engineer, and a bike shop manager. They do not include one Apple employee and one Google employee who were in the initial pool from which jurors were selected. The Apple employee ruled himself out and the Google employee was rejected by Apple attorneys.

The would-be jurors gathered in the downtown courthouse were reflective of the Bay Area and Silicon Valley. Many had technical backgrounds and advanced degrees. Of the final 24 jurors that answered extensive questions about their backgrounds, nine had been born outside the US.

At one point, potential jurors were asked if they or anyone they knew worked for Google, Apple, Motorola, or Samsung. One worked directly for Google, and one for Apple. The Apple employee said he couldn't be objective and was dismissed, but the Google employee—a user interface designer—said he could be fair. He initially stayed in the jury pool despite the objections of Apple lawyers, but Apple attorneys ultimately used one of their "strikes" to kick him off.

Several jurors also had friends or family who worked for one of the companies, but said they could stay objective and wouldn't talk to those friends during trial. The jurors were also asked what kind of technology they use and own. Some owned Samsung devices, especially televisions, but many more owned Apple devices.

The just-selected jurors may be hearing the largest patent infringement case of all time, if Apple is able to get anything near the $2.5 billion in damages it's asking for. Apple is saying Samsung infringed patents related to iPhone design and user interface technology, and Samsung has sued back, saying that Apple infringes its own patents. The San Jose battle is the centerpiece of the conflict between the two companies who dominate the smartphone market, with a combined global market share of more than 50 percent.

The line for entering the small San Jose federal courthouse this morning included throngs of lawyers, reporters, and interested observers, stretching down half of a city block. Three television crews stood around doing background shots, as lawyers from both corporations stayed mum and waited to be ushered through security check. Their assistants maneuvered boxes of documents, stacked six feet high on hand carts, through the courthouse doors.

Opening statements are scheduled for tomorrow. Both sides have hired top-tier legal talent to fight out this trial, as it is the centerpiece of a worldwide legal battle between Apple and Samsung over patents.

Listing image by Dave Schumaker