Apple has thrown a tantrum after being ordered to reveal secrets that could help Samsung keep its products on the shelves.
On Thursday, a judge ruled that Apple must give up information about their patent deal with HTC to Samsung. The details of the Apple-HTC deal could be crucial to Samsung as it prepares a defense to Apple’s bid to have Samsung’s biggest products taken off store shelves.
The Atlantic ‘s Connor Simpson highlighted a useful quote from The Verge ‘s Bryan Bishop explaining the situation:
“If so, the company argues, Apple’s request that infringing Samsung products be removed from the market falls apart, because Apple was happy to ‘forego exclusivity in exchange for money’ — and in this instance, Apple is already receiving money in the form of a hefty $1.049 billion verdict.”
In response to the court’s order, Apple decided to add a number of new devices to the list of Samsung products it wants to see removed from store shelves for patent infringement. The newest additions to the list include the following:
Samsung’s Galaxy S III running the latest Android software Samsung’s Galaxy Note 2 Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 8.9 Wifi Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 Samsung’s Rugby Pro Samsung’s Galaxy S III Mini
Apple and Samsung, the two biggest smartphone manufacturers on the planet, are currently embroiled in a series of ongoing lawsuits .
The legal battle began in spring 2011 when Apple took their Korean rivals to court over an infringement of Apple patents. Samsung lost the $1.05 billion suit in August, and since then the companies have engaged in a series of tit-for-tat maneuvers.
While “Apple throws tantrum” is not inaccurate, Samsung has pulled off its fair share of underhand moves, including raising the price of mobile processors it sells to Apple as part of a supply contract that runs through 2014.
Expect more totally reasonable moves from one or the other company in the near future.