Judge Paul S. Grewal recently ordered Apple to show Samsung the details of its agreement with HTC, which recently brought an end to ongoing litigation by striking a ten-year patent cross-licensing deal. The unredacted version of its HTC settlement is said to be for attorney’s-eyes-only, which means that the details will likely remain out of public reach. The order mentioned the following in specific:
Accordingly, Samsung’s motion to compel production of an unredacted version of the settlement agreement is GRANTED. Apple shall produce the unredacted document without delay subject to an Attorneys-Eyes-Only designation under the protective order already in place in this case.
HTC filed a response with the court declaring that such an action would harm the company if it were to divulge the Apple settlement details. Judge Grewal said the court was “not persuaded” by HTC’s assertions ultimately. He continued by stating that while the court is “more than a little skeptical” of Samsung’s own arguments, they are covered under Rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure which describes the “duty to disclose; general provisions governing discovery.” Judge Grewal wrote the following in the order; "Many third parties to this case have had their licensing agreements disclosed –without any redaction of financial terms – subject to an Attorneys-Eyes-Only designation because the confidential financial terms were clearly relevant to the dispute between Apple and Samsung.”
Both Apple and HTC previously agreed to disclose a version of the settlement with all financial details redacted but that obviously didn’t work out. The Apple vs. Samsung post-trial proceedings are set to continue with parties meeting a hearing scheduled for December 6, where the companies will discuss their respective motions.
Source: Reuters
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