Apple Must Give Samsung Details of HTC Settlement

Apple Inc. (AAPL) was ordered by a federal
judge in its patent lawsuit against Samsung Electronics Co. to
disclose licensing terms of a settlement with HTC Corp. (2498)

U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal in San Jose, California,
said in an order yesterday that financial terms of licensing
agreements for other third parties have been disclosed in the
patent-infringement case between Apple and Samsung. He ordered
Apple to produce a copy of the agreement under an "attorneys-
eyes-only" designation, meaning it won't be publicly available.

"HTC is not entitled to special treatment, especially when
it has recognized the general sufficiency of the protective
order and the integrity of Samsung's outside counsel," Grewal
wrote.

In August, Apple won a $1.05 billion patent-infringement
verdict in a jury trial against Samsung in San Jose. U.S.
District Judge Lucy H. Koh scheduled a Dec. 6 hearing for
Apple's bid for a permanent U.S. sales ban on eight Samsung
smartphone models and the Tab 10.1 tablet computer. She will
also consider Samsung's bid to get the verdict thrown out based
on claims of juror misconduct.

Samsung had argued the terms of the licensing agreement are
"highly relevant" to Apple's request for an order blocking
U.S. sales of Samsung smartphones. Before yesterday, lawyers for
Apple said HTC was willing to provide a copy of the accord with
the financial terms redacted.

Samsung Argument

Daryl Crone, a lawyer for Samsung, told Grewal by phone in
court yesterday that if HTC agreed to pay Apple a small sum for
licenses of patents at issue in the San Jose case, that could be
used to undermine Apple's argument that it has suffered
"irreparable harm," a standard required to win an injunction
barring sales of Samsung's products.

Apple, which had accused HTC of copying features that made
its iPhone unique, on Nov. 10 settled all global lawsuits with
HTC and agreed to a 10-year licensing deal.

Kristin Huguet, an Apple spokeswoman, didn't immediately
return an e-mail yesterday seeking comment on the ruling.

Samsung also asked Grewal in a filing yesterday in another
case to let it add the iPod Touch 5, three prior generations of
the iPad Touch, the iPad 4 and the iPad Mini to its infringement
claims against Apple.

Grewal ruled last week that Samsung can add the iPhone 5 to
its patent-infringement claims against Apple, and Apple can add
infringement claims against the Samsung Galaxy Note, the U.S.
version of the Galaxy S III and the Jelly Bean operating system.

The cases are Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) Ltd.,
11-cv-1846 and 12-cv-630, U.S. District Court, Northern District
of California (San Jose).

To contact the reporter on this story:
Joel Rosenblatt in San Francisco at
jrosenblatt@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net

Enlarge image

Apple Must Give Samsung Details of HTC Settlement, Judge Rules

Jerome Favre/Bloomberg

In August, Apple won a $1.05 billion patent-infringement verdict in a jury trial against Samsung in San Jose. U.S.

In August, Apple won a $1.05 billion patent-infringement verdict in a jury trial against Samsung in San Jose. U.S. Photographer: Jerome Favre/Bloomberg

Source:
http://www.news.ezonearticle.com/2012/11/22/apple-must-give-samsung-details-of-htc-settlement/