Uniloc, Apple Win Appeal to Keep Some Patent License Info Secret

Apple Inc. and Uniloc USA Inc. convinced a divided Federal Circuit that a trial court wrongly unsealed patent licensing information that they argue should be kept confidential.

Uniloc and Apple asked the appeals court to overturn the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California’s refusal to seal any information about more than 100 third-party licensing deals with companies including Microsoft Corp.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group, intervened to support the trial court’s ruling, citing the public’s right to know the reasoning behind that court’s decision to dismiss the patent infringement suit for standing reasons.

The ...