Tech Firms Battle to Keep Secrets as Apple vs. Samsung Nears Trial

While the primary battle in a San Jose courtroom will be between Samsung and Apple, a secondary skirmish is also taking place. Both Apple and Samsung — along with a variety of other tech companies including Intel, Qualcomm and Microsoft — are pleading with the court to keep a variety of details from court filings away from public view.

Among the sensitive details the firms want kept private are product diagrams, contract terms and internal market research. In addition to the oppositions filed by various tech companies, Apple has also sought to keep under seal pricey market research reports it has purchased, arguing that the disclosure of those reports would destroy the value of the reports and hurt Apple’s relationships with the firms that produced the studies. News agency Reuters, meanwhile, is fighting that request, arguing that most everything should be made public, despite the objections from the tech companies.