Samsung Must Reveal Some Gadget Sales Data in Apple Suit
Samsung has been dealt another unfavorable ruling in its Smartphone IP Hundred Years War with Apple. A federal judge in California has denied the company’s request to keep some of its device sales data confidential until its appeal on the sealing of that data is heard by the federal circuit court.
Lucy Koh, the U.S. District Court judge presiding over the companies’ battle, this week ruled that Samsung cannot seal an exhibit describing total unit sales of some of its products.
“[The exhibit at issue] contains no information about pricing or profits; it only lists the number of units sold in each of several recent months,” Koh wrote. “Samsung has not asked the Federal Circuit to rule on whether sales figures that do not reveal anything about revenue and pricing can be sealed, and this Court has concluded that such data may not be sealed.”
So it looks like that sales data is going to be made public at some point. And while it’s not clear exactly what devices it’s for, it’s likely to be interesting. Certainly, the mere fact that Samsung is fighting so hard to keep the data out of the public eye makes it more than a little intriguing.