“U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal was furious,” Phillip Elmer-Dewitt reports for Fortune.
“Details of a patent licensing agreement between Apple (AAPL) and Nokia (NOK) that were turned over to Samsung’s outside counsel with an agreement — protected by court order — that they would absolutely, positively never be seen by Samsung itself — turned up in the hands of a Samsung licensing executive who told a shocked Nokia executive: ‘all information leaks,'” P.E.D. reports. “‘A casual observer might reasonably wonder,’ Judge Grewal wrote in October, ‘what magic a protective order works that allows outside counsel access to confidential information to advance the case without countenancing untoward uses by the client.”
“The answer is not a magical one at all: confidential information remains confidential because counsel and clients alike follow court orders. If parties breach this basic rule, the court’s assurances become meaningless,'” P.E.D. reports. “Apple and Nokia had demand tough sanctions against Samsung and its outside counsel, Quinn Emanuel, Grewel on Wednesday delivered his answer: His ‘public findings of wrongdoing’ — plus court costs — would be ‘sufficient both to remedy Apple and Nokia’s harm and to discourage similar conduct in the future.'”
“To the judge, in his court room, a public finding of wrongdoing probably seems like a big deal. Outside the court, where most people live, his admonishment is likely to get lost,” P.E.D. reports. “So in the spirit of Judge Grewal’s order — to ‘discourage similar conduct in the future’ — I’ve reposted below a partial record of Samsung extra legal activities…”
Read more about what an awful company Samsung really is here.
MacDailyNews Take: This would work great… if Samsung and the criminals running it were capable of feeling shame.
Related articles:
Apple and Nokia propose sanctions against Samsung and its lawyers over Patentgate – December 3, 2013
Judge considers sanctions against Samsung, lawyers in dispute with Apple – November 11, 2013
Patentgate: Judge now feels sanctions against Samsung and its lawyers are warranted – November 9, 2013
Australian federal judge losing patience with Samsung over Patentgate affair – October 28, 2013
U.S. District Judge Koh denies Samsung motions, finds Apple licensing disclosures ‘improper,’ cover-up ‘inexcusable’ – October 16, 2013
Sanctions loom large: Samsung may have spied on sealed Apple-Nokia documents to aid patent deals – October 3, 2013
