How's this for irony: The U.K. judge who ruled Apple must publicly apologize to Samsung as part of a patent appeal is now an expert on the Korean manufacturer's legal team.
Foss Patents reported Thursday that Professor Sir Robin Jacob, a retired U.K. judge-turned-professor who famously forced a public apology out of Apple last year, now appears to be working for the very company he ruled in favor of.
Sir Robin is currently one of nine experts "working on behalf" of Samsung Electronics, defending the Korean manufacturer against an Ericsson complaint filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC).
The ex-judge's latest endeavor is raising eyebrows in the wake of the appeals court verdict he handed down - along with two other judges - less than four months ago.
'Lack of integrity'
During its appeal in one of many Samsung v. Apple patent battles, Cupertino steadfastly refused to withdraw a separate German lawsuit, despite a ruling by a lower court in the U.K.
That denial led to an appeals court ruling forcing Apple to make a public apology confirming that Samsung's Galaxy Tab didn't infringe on the company's iPad.
Apple's initial apology attempted to turn the court ruling on its head, a stunt greeted with scorn by Robin, who singled out the company's "lack of integrity" in failing to comply with the order.
According to the report, ex-judges in the U.K. are indeed permitted to work for the very same companies they once presided over in court, assuming the litigation in question falls outside of that country's borders - as it does in this case.
