The list of patents included in Apple and HTC’s recent settlement can’t be sealed, according to a California judge’s ruling.
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District Court Judge Lucy Koh wrote that while pricing and royalty terms can be sealed for “compelling reasons” regarding future negotiations, the list of patents “does not meet the ‘compelling reasons’ standard” and that “there is nothing in the remainder of the agreement that presents a sufficient risk of competitive harm to justify keeping it from the public.” While Samsung was already given the right to view confidential details of the agreement, the public will now be able to see if Apple included any of its rarely shared “user experience” patents in the settlement.
