From the witness stand, patent manager Hiroshi Ikeda of Asia Manufacturing Co. stares at a copy of a critical e-mail. In it, AMC managers instruct engineers to procure 10 samples of a golf club grip marketed by Sports Grip Co. of the United States for "reverse engineering."
"Reverse engineering is not the same as copying," Ikeda insists.
AMC is a fictional Japanese sporting goods company accused of copying closed-pore technology patented by a fellow fictional company -- SGC of the U.S. -- in a mock trial for a 2 billion yen patent infringement lawsuit.