Information about sales, profits and margins for specific Apple products should be made public, the judge hearing the company’s lawsuit against Samsung ruled on Wednesday, though a higher court’s decision could keep the data from ever being revealed, reports the “IDG News Service” (http://macte.ch/MJXg4).
Apple used the financial information in a motion to ask for damages above and beyond the US$1.05 billion award that a jury awarded it in August. The jury had found Samsung copied iPhones and other Apple devices in several of its products. However, Apple wants to keep the financial information under seal, saying it constitutes trade secrets, notes the “IDG News Service.”
However, Judge Lucy Koh of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California says those figures should be publicly available. But she ruled that the information should not be unsealed before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rules on an appeal by Apple. Both courts have stays in place until that ruling is made, notes the “IDG News Service.”
This is all part of the ongoing, global legal battle. Apple and Samsung have filed more than 30 lawsuits against each other across four continents. For example, Apple alleges that Samsung copied the slide-to-unlock technology of its iPhone and iPad devices.