This is interesting. US District Court Judge Lucy Koh has just rejected several secrecy requests from both Apple and Samsung in their ongoing patent dispute.
The proposals were made in hopes to keep patents and other “key documents” out of public view during the trial, which is set to kick off at the end of the month…
Reuters reports:
“In an order issued late on Tuesday, 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. Representatives for Apple and Samsung could not immediately be reached for comment.”
So does this mean that we’ll get a sneak preview of the next iPhone or any other unreleased products? Not likely. The article goes on to say that filing documents under seal has become a pretty standard procedure in intellectual property cases.
Nevertheless, the fact that Apple filed the privacy request in order to “protect its trade secrets, and other sensitive business information” made our ears perk up. If nothing else, maybe it’ll add some excitement to an otherwise dull storyline.
That being said, this case and its outcome are huge — for both companies. Apple has already won preliminary injunctions against Samsung’s Galaxy Tab and Nexus handset. And both could face a permanent US ban if Apple comes out on top.
Get your popcorn ready. The trial starts July 30th.