Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2012/11/21/apple_redacted_agreement_samsung/
Apple: Sure, here's the HTC patent pact. WITH numbers blanked out
Oh Samsung, talking about money is SO crass
Posted in Legal, 21st November 2012 11:33 GMT
Apple has told Samsung that it will provide a copy of its agreement with HTC to a US court, but only if it's heavily redacted and all monetary terms are blanked out.
Samsung filed on Friday to try to get Apple to produce the settlement and patent license agreement with HTC, claiming the document is relevant to its own patent dispute with Apple. Getting the agreement could give Samsung a basis to argue that since Apple is happy to license its patents, it shouldn't be allowed to get any injunctions against Samsung products with those same patents, as it would imply "Apple’s willingness to forego exclusivity in exchange for money".
Apple filed yesterday saying that Samsung's motion was "moot" because the electronics firm had already agreed to take a redacted version of the settlement.
"HTC has advised the parties that it is willing to acquiesce to Apple’s production of the agreement on two conditions: (1) the Agreement must be marked Highly Confidential – Attorneys’ Eyes Only under the protective order; and (2) the consideration amount must be redacted," Apple said, "Samsung has agreed to both conditions."
Attached to Apple's filing are emails between the lawyers for the two firms, in which Samsung says it's happy to take the redacted version for now, but adds that it will pursue the full agreement if it thinks it's necessary and it will act to try to get pieces of the redacted agreement into open court if it needs to.
Apple said it acknowledged that Samsung was reserving the right to take further action, but argued that the motion to compel should be withdrawn anyway.
The fruity firm is trying to argue that the royalty rate that HTC now pays and the way the two firms came up with that rate are irrelevant to its injunction motion against Samsung, but the court may not see it that way. If the court refused to grant the injunctions and told the parties to go away and sort out a licensing agreement, it would solve the competition problems caused by taking Samsung products off the US market.
Even if Samsung isn't able to stop its products from being banned at the 6 December injunction hearing, any ammunition it lines up now will be used in its appeal against the Apple's $1bn August win, which the firm is currently trying to overthrow based on jury bias. ®