Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) asked to reveal details of settlement with HTC

A court in California has ruled that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has revealed the details of its settlement with HTC Corp to Samsung. The court said that the documents will be available only to the relevant attorneys and would not be made public.

The court ruling came after Samsung filed an appeal in the court saying that the terms of licensing arrangement were important in its own battle with Apple. The Cupertino company is trying to get Samsung mobile devices banned from being sold in the U.S. market.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal in San Jose, who is presiding over the trial, had noted that in prior patent infringement cases financial terms of licensing agreements for related third parties have been divulged. He ordered Apple to produce a copy of the agreement for Samsung’s attorneys to examine.

Apple's case against HTC Corp, initiated about a couple of years back, can be seen as a precursor to its current battle with Samsung. The common enemy in both cases is Google's Android operating system, which Apple has maintained, is a copy of its own operating platform iOS.

The case was settled in November 10, this year culminating in a 10-year licensing agreement, but the details of the settlement were never revealed.

Samsung's attorneys have contended that if the Apple HTC financial agreement contained a licensing accord, the foundation of Apple’s argument to bar U.S. sales of Samsung’s devices — that it had been irreparably harmed by such activities — would slip away.