In an unorthodox joint effort, tech giant Apple and its frequent patent rival Uniloc have persuaded a US appeals court to allow them to keep the terms of Uniloc’s patent licenses secret for the time being.
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said a San Francisco-based judge had previously exaggerated the value of the public's interest in the information. At the time, the judge denied Uniloc’s motion to conceal the records in favour of the non-profit digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Although the Federal Circuit had previously affirmed District Judge William Alsup’s decision to disclose information about Uniloc’s business practices, the appeals court has now returned the dispute to the Alsup for reconsideration, allowing Apple and Uniloc to keep Uniloc’s patent licenses secret at least temporarily.
Despite their recent collaboration, Uniloc and Apple typically interact as rivals. In 2017, Uniloc sued Apple over patents related to smartphones, in just one of several lawsuits Uniloc has filed against the iPhone maker.
