Samsung a obtinut in mod ilicit acces la informatii confidentiale privind acordurile de licentiere semnate intre Apple si Nokia

  Daca va era dor sa mai auziti ce actiuni neobisnuite mai are Samsung, ei bine astazi aflati ca unii manageri ai companiei coreene au obtinut in mod ilicit informatii confidentiale privind acordurile de licentiere incheiate intre Apple si Nokia. Cele doua companii au fost obligate sa ofere aceste informatii in cadrul unui proces, insa ele erau oferite doar pentru a fi revizuite de catre avocatii celor de la Samsung, fara ca altcineva sa poata avea acces la ele. In ciuda restrictiilor impuse de catre instanta si a sanctiunilor ce vor urma in urma incalcarii interdictiilor, avocatii Samsung au oferit informatii despre aceste acorduri catre nu mai putin de 50 de anagajati ai coreenilor, unii utilizandu-le in negocieri avute cu Nokia.

Licensing executives from Samsung and Nokia held a meeting on June 4, 2013 to discuss a patent license deal between these parties. In that meeting, a Samsung exec, Dr. Seungho Ahn, “informed Nokia that the terms of the Apple-Nokia license were known to him” and according to a declaration from Nokia’s Chief Intellectual Property Officer, Paul Melin, “stated that Apple had produced the Apple-Nokia license in its litigation with Samsung, and that Samsung’s outside counsel had provided his team with the terms of the Apple-Nokia license”. The Melin declaration furthermore says that “to prove to Nokia that he knew the confidential terms of the Apple-Nokia license, Dr. Ahn recited the terms of the license, and even went so far as to tell Nokia that ‘all information leaks.'”

  Nokia a aflat despre aceasta incalcare in cadrul unei negocieri avute cu reprezentanti ai Samsung, unul dintre acestia recitand o parte dintre termenii acordului incheiat intre compania finlandeza si cei de la Apple. Cei de la Samsung au recunoscut atunci ca avocatii proprii le-au furnizat informatiile privind acele acorduri si asta in conditiile in care ei risca sanctiuni severe pentru divulgarea lor. In fata acesor probleme, cei de la Apple au depus deja o cerere la o instanta din SUA pentru a investiga si sanctiona sever avocatii care au divulgat informatii secrete din aceste acorduri, insa ramane de vazut cat va dura pana in momentul in care vreo persoana va fi trasa la raspundere, problema fiind foarte mare atat pentru Apple/Nokia, cat si pentru casa de avocatura care reprezinta Samsung.

In March 24, 2012, Samsung’s outside counsel (Quinn Emanuel) sent a draft report by Dr. Teece to its client without, as it would have been required to do under the law, fully redacting out any confidential business information of the “attorneys’ eyes only” kind. This happened over an FTP file download site that every Samsung employee involved with the Apple-Samsung litigation was able to access — as well as lawyers representing Samsung in other cases (these parties have litigation pending in eleven jurisdictions), which also weren’t supposed to get this information.

  Informatiile acestea confidentiale ar fi ajuns la atat de multe persoane din cauza faptului ca ar fi fost incarcate intr-un FTP utilizat de catre Samsung si avocatii sai pentru a distribui materiale legate de diverse procese, avocatii “uitand” sa cenzureze elementele confidentiale. Avand in vedere ca Samsung a refuzat sa coopereze cu instanta care incearca sa afle adevarul, aceasta va obliga compania sa furnizeze informatii despre comunicatiile avute intre coreeni si casa de avocatura care a distribuit informatiile, Apple si Nokia urmand a revizui aceste informatii pentru a descoperi cand si cum s-au incalcat directivele instantei.