Earlier this week, we told you about Apple’s complaint over Google’s resistance to hand over parts of the Android source code documentation. Apple’s request is part of its ongoing California patent fight against Samsung. Bloomberg now reports that U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal ordered the Internet giant to disclose within two days what terms it’s using to find documents Apple has requested.
Despite Google’s insistence that the collection of such information would be “too burdensome,” the court also ordered that the search monster tell Apple “which Google employees those documents came from”…
Bloomberg has the quote attributed to judge Grewal:
The court cannot help but note the irony that Google, a pioneer in searching the Internet, is arguing that it would be unduly burdened by producing a list of how it searched its own files.
Apple’s request is part of its proxy fight against Google’s Android through patent litigation with Samsung, the maker of Galaxy devices.
Google is actually a third-party to Apple’s second patent case against Samsung.
The second case follows the high-profile August 2012 trial that saw Apple win $1.05 in damages after the jury found that Samsung infringed six of Apple’s utility patents.
According to a court filing, Apple alleges that Android, which powers Samsung’s infringing products, “provides much of the accused functionality.”
Apple’s lawyers previously warned the court that Google is “improperly withholding information” related to Android’s source code documentation.
Back in January, Samsung was pressuring Apple into reveal the iOS 6 source code.
The iPhone maker called the request filed at a Korean court “insane” and said Samsung attempted to trick it into revealing its “most important data”.