Journalists Allowed to Argue at March 26 Hearing On Behalf of the Public's Right to Know in Apple, Samsung Appeal ~pj

Abraham Lincoln advised lawyers that the best thing they could do for a client was to keep him out of litigation. Steve Jobs should have listened to that excellent advice, from one genius to another, so to speak. But he didn't, and he decided to start thermonuclear war to try to destroy Android, using litigation as the weapon of choice.

After Steve Jobs died, I read an article that quoted his widow as saying something to the effect that just because someone is a genius in one area, it didn't mean he was a genius in all areas. I found that a charmingly honest statement that all wives for sure would understand, with all its overtones and undertones reverberating in the air. One thing that watching Jobs' plan to destroy Android play out in courtrooms has made obvious: he was not a genius at the law. Unquestionably, the Apple brand has been damaged by the litigation against Samsung.

And it may be about to get worse. Here's what is threatening to happen next: The parties were in agreement that the district court was unsealing too many company secrets and both are appealing to the Federal Circuit to keep things sealed. They agreed that they don't want to stand naked before the world, with all their trade secrets exposed. Unfortunately for them, they happened to draw two judges who believe litigants have to endure more of a spotlight than they might enjoy if they choose to litigate, because the public has rights too. Who knew that would happen? Clearly not Apple, a company that is known for its secretiveness. And the appeals court has just ruled that an eager band of journalists will be allowed to argue against sealing of the parties' relevant documents at the upcoming oral argument on the point on March 26.

Dow Jones & Company, Inc., The First Amendment Coalition, The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, American Society of News Editors, Bloomberg L.P., Gannett Co., Inc., The New York Times Company, The Washington Post and Society of Professional Journalists will appear at oral argument, and a lawyer from The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Gregg R. Leslie, a staff attorney and legal defense director there, will share its allotted time with the attorney from the First Amendment Coalition. Together, they will argue that the parties are asking that too much be being sealed in the Apple v. Samsung case, the first one, that the district court should be upheld, because the public has a right to know what is going on.