Apple must reveal sensitive data to continue quest for Samsung's money

Apple must reveal sensitive data
Well let's see it then

Apple may have won the war, but anyone who follows tech news knows that the battles between Apple and Samsung are far from over.

Despite Apple winning more $1 billion (£664 million, AU$1.03 billion) of Samsung's money in its landmark patent dispute with the Korean company, both companies have kept the trial going with requests for more money and demands for entire new trials.

But now Apple has hit a wall in its quest for an extra $535 million (£3.3 million, AU$514 million): the Cupertino tech giant wants to use financial documents containing "trade secrets" in its case against Samsung, and it wants to keep them secret while doing so.

And California's Judge Lucy Koh isn't going to let that happen.

Show us the goods

On Thursday, Judge Koh denied Apple's requests to have the secret financial documents sealed from public viewing.

Koh reportedly told Apple that it has to choose between continuing its pursuit of more damages, or keeping the documents secret.

She also judged that Apple's never-ending requests for more of Samsung's money and bans on Samsung's products "would have a profound effect on the smartphone industry, consumers, and the public."

Koh has never tried to hide her opinion of this battle of giants, frequently forcing both sides to keep it civil and curtailing what could have been an even more complicated case.

Secrets make the world go 'round

Apple told the court that the documents contain "product-specific unit sales, revenue, profit, profit margin, and cost data."

The iPhone maker is notoriously secretive, true, but it was already forced to reveal sales data about the iPhone and iPad as part of the trial back in August.

So one has to wonder what exactly is in these documents that could be so damning to Samsung and so important for Apple to keep hidden.

But now that Apple and the court have piqued the tech world's interest, these financial secrets likely won't stay secret for long.

Via Slashgear

Michael Rougeau

Michael Rougeau is a former freelance news writer for TechRadar. Studying at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Northeastern University, Michael has bylines at Kotaku, 1UP, G4, Complex Magazine, Digital Trends, GamesRadar, GameSpot, IFC, Animal New York, @Gamer, Inside the Magic, Comic Book Resources, Zap2It, TabTimes, GameZone, Cheat Code Central, Gameshark, Gameranx, The Industry, Debonair Mag, Kombo, and others.

Micheal also spent time as the Games Editor for Playboy.com, and was the managing editor at GameSpot before becoming an Animal Care Manager for Wags and Walks.

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