Apple has asked a U.S. court to formally request internal Samsung documents from South Korea as part of discovery in the DOJ's ongoing antitrust lawsuit against the company.
The DOJ filed suit against Apple in March 2024, alongside a number of governments, alleging the company used App Store rules, developer restrictions, and control over key iPhone features to stifle competition. After Apple's bid to have the case dismissed failed, the litigation moved into discovery.
Samsung is central to the case. All four complaints identify Samsung as Apple's "closest smartphone competitor," and plaintiffs allege that Apple's conduct caused Samsung to stop making smartwatches that connect to iPhone in 2021. Apple subpoenaed Samsung's U.S. subsidiary, Samsung Electronics America, for documents, but the subsidiary declined to produce any records, arguing the materials are held solely by its South Korean parent. Apple says Samsung America lodged that objection 65 times across its responses.
In a memorandum filed on April 7, Apple asked the court to issue a formal letter of request under the Hague Evidence Convention, an international mechanism that allows civil proceedings to seek documents from foreign entities. The request targets market research, sales data, financial statements, and consumer switching analyses from Samsung's smartphone and wearables divisions, as well as Galaxy Store developer agreements and documents relating to Samsung Pay, messaging apps, and super apps.
Apple pointed specifically to Smart Switch, Samsung's tool for transferring content from iPhone to a Samsung device, as evidence that the company holds directly relevant data on consumer switching behavior. The filing also seeks Samsung's own documents on its digital wallet fees, after plaintiffs alleged Apple charges banks 0.15% per Apple Pay transaction while Samsung charges nothing comparable.
Even if the court grants the motion, South Korean authorities would independently decide whether to comply, and Samsung Electronics could raise objections under Korean law.
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