Judge Rejects Secrecy Bids In Apple Inc Versus Samsung Electronics Co Ltd Battle-Reuters

Reuters reported that A U.S. judge rejected several requests by Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd to keep portions of key documents out of public view in their high-stakes patent litigation battle set for trial later this month. Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd are waging legal war in several countries, accusing each other of patent violations as they vie for supremacy in a fast-growing market for mobile devices. In an order issued, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, wrote that it appears that the parties have overdesignated confidential documents and are seeking to seal information that is not truly sealable. Koh gave both companies one week to refile their sealing requests. Filing documents under seal has become almost standard procedure in intellectual-property cases as companies try to keep their trade secrets and other sensitive business information from coming out during litigation. If Apple wins, it could seek to permanently bar the sale of some Samsung phones in the crucial U.S. market. Samsung's phones and tablets run on the Android operating system, developed by Google. The judge wrote that only documents of exceptionally sensitive information that truly deserve protection will be allowed to be redacted or kept from the public. The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, is Apple Inc v. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd et al, 11-1846.