A few weeks ago, Apple won a huge patent lawsuit against their rival Samsung. Samsung was ordered to pay more than $1 Billion in damages, but not everything may be rosy for Apple. US District judge Lucy Koh, in her decision, said that Apple must release its profit margins to the public.
Koh denied Apple’s request to seal a variety of documents tied to the company’s financial performance. They redacted documents included “product-specific unit sales, revenue, profit, profit margin, and cost data.” These are in relation to Apple seeking an additional $535 million. Apple doesn’t want the documents to be released, because they might benefit its competitors. Judge Koh didn’t buy it. In an order issued Wednesday:
Apple has not established that public availability of its product-specific unit sales, revenue, profit, profit margin, and cost data would actually provide its competitors with an advantage. As evidenced by the plethora of media and general public scrutiny of the preliminary injunction proceedings and the trial, the public has a significant interest in these court filings, and therefore the strong presumption of public access applies.
Going on she wrote:
Such remedies would have a profound effect on the smartphone industry, consumers, and the public… Beyond continuing to assert that its financial data are ‘trade secrets,’ Apple has not provided any new arguments for why this information should be protected.
Reuters went as far as to hire their own lawyer and file motions that asked for many of the documents to be unsealed. This is an unusual and rather expensive move for a media organization covering a civil trial. Apple is appealing the decision to the US Court of Appeals. Samsung, meanwhile, is seeking a new trial claiming the jury decision was tainted. The foreman did not disclose that he was a former employee with Seagate, a company that Samsung is a major investor.
[via Ars Technica]