androidAs the ongoing court battles between Apple and Samsung continue, Bloomberg reports that Apple has become more aggressive in pushing for Google to turn over Android-related documents that may be pertinent to the case. Apple argues that Google's refusal to reveal the search terms it is using to find documents requested by Apple as part of the pretrial discovery phase of the latest lawsuit between Apple and Samsung suggests that Google may not be finding certain relevant documents.

Apple, as part of its second patent-infringement lawsuit against Samsung in the same court, argues that Android is used in all of Samsung’s allegedly infringing products and “provides much of the accused functionality” in Apple’s claims, according to a court filing.

“It’s a question of transparency,” Mark Lyon, a lawyer for Apple, told Grewal yesterday, referring to the documents. “We have concerns that they’re not doing a full search.”

Google lawyer Matthew Warren has argued that Apple is seeking an unfair advantage, keeping Google out of the formal case in order to prevent reciprocal discovery efforts while still prying into Google's internal documents through third-party discovery. According to Warren:

Turning over the search terms Apple wants may lead to “future discovery that we don’t think they’re entitled to” and give Apple “ideas about how to proceed that they wouldn’t have had.”

The case at hand relates to some of Apple's and Samsung's latest handsets, including the iPhone 5 and the Galaxy S III. It is a followup to a previous case that saw a jury award Apple $1 billion, although the judge in the case has voided nearly half of that judgment due to jury errors and a new trial to determine corrected damages is set for November.

Top Rated Comments

shaunp Avatar
132 months ago
Apple, I'd be more impressed if you created some new products. Ones people actually want like a new Mac Pro!!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Oletros Avatar
132 months ago
I think that Bloomberg has made a mess with this report and Apple is not asking for Android source code.

Apple filled a motion at the end of April asking Google what term was using for searching some discovery evidence.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
blackcrayon Avatar
132 months ago
Apple, I'd be more impressed if you created some new products. Ones people actually want like a new Mac Pro!!

And Apple would be more impressed if Samsung did... I think that's the point of these, no?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
samcraig Avatar
132 months ago
Perhaps Apple thinks that Google's search works like Apple Maps and wants to double down on accuracy :eek:
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
genovelle Avatar
132 months ago
They clearly make products people want or Sammy wouldn't find the need to copy then fight for the right to do so. Apple is rightly holding their cards long enough to prove they will fight and to limit the anount of time Sammy and others have to react before the holidays.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Oletros Avatar
132 months ago
Which would likely never be allowed, nor ever be an option for either companies shareholders.

And none of both has the money to buy the other
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)