Federal Circuit Protects Confidential Exhibits Despite Strong Media Interest

In a unique appeal in which smartphone heavyweight opponents Apple and Samsung both advocated that the district court abused its discretion in refusing to seal certain confidential exhibits from both parties, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed and remanded a lower court's order denying Samsung and Apple's requests to seal various confidential exhibits attached to pre- and post-trial motions, finding that the lower court abused its discretion under its own compelling reason standard. Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, Case Nos. 12-1600, -1606 and 13-1146 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 23, 2013) (Prost, J.)

Apple sued Samsung asserting patent and trade dress infringement against Samsung's smartphones and tablets. Samsung filed its own patent counterclaims, and the case was tried before a jury that returned a verdict in Apple's favor for more than a billion dollars in damages. The trial drew significant