Judge orders Apple to reveal full HTC patent deal to Samsung

On Friday last week, Samsung asked the court to force Apple to turn over the full details of its recently announced patent settlement with HTC. It feels the terms of the deal could be useful in its ongoing legal battle with the iPad-maker.

Apple has since agreed to allow Samsung to see the pact in a heavily redacted document — leaving all of about 33 words. But tonight, a judge has granted Samsung’s motion to compel. So Apple will have to reveal the entire agreement…

Here’s the excerpt from tonight’s order by US Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal (via The Verge):

“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.”

This is a nice little victory for Samsung’s legal team, who thinks the terms of Apple’s deal with HTC could help it in its fight to appeal the August verdict that cost it $1 billion. If nothing else, it’ll prove that Apple is ok with others using its IP.

The patent settlement between Apple and HTC has been the subject of much speculation since it was announced last Saturday. Some analysts believe HTC could be paying Apple between $6-$8 per handset. But HTC has denied the claim.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like we’ll find out the exact terms anytime soon. Grewal’s order to produce the unredacted document has a designation of “Attorneys-Eyes-Only,” meaning no one outside of Samsung’s legal team will see it.