Judge Grants Samsung Full Unredacted Access to Apple-HTC Settlement Agreement

Last week Samsung asked U.S. court Judge Paul Grewal for access to the Apple-HTC settlement deal, specifically the patents included in the deal and the financial terms HTC is paying Apple in their 10 year deal. Earlier today we heard how Apple and HTC had agreed to show a redacted copy of the settlement to Samsung that hid the royalty rate. 

Now, it appears Judge Grewal has granted Samsung full access to the unredacted Apple-HTC settlement, as noted in the court order (via The Verge), even though he was “more than a little skeptical of Samsung’s arguments regarding the financial terms”:

Accordingly, Samsung’s motion to compel production of an unredacted version of the settlement agreement is GRANTED. Apple shall produce the unredacted document without delay subject to an Attorneys-Eyes-Only designation under the protective order already in place in this case.

HTC argued revealing a full unredacted version would put the company at risk, but Judge Grewal decided otherwise, as he responded other third parties in the case have had their licensing agreements fully disclosed.

The document will be Attorneys-Eyes-Only so only the lawyers will get to see what’s inside, and not the public. Let’s hope the terms of the deal don’t mysteriously ‘leak’, which is a move Samsung’s lawyers have pulled before when it comes to court evidence.