IPCom GMBH & Co. KG v. Apple Inc.
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Grewal, J.
(Re: Docket No. 7)
ORDER DENYING APPLE’S MOTION TO QUASH SUBPOENA IN A CIVIL CASE
Before the court is Apple Inc.’s motion to quash IPCom GMBH & Co. KG’s subpoena for Apple’s license agreements, which was served pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1782 . 1 The matter was submitted without oral argument pursuant to Civ. L.R. 7-1(b). Having reviewed the papers, the court DENIES Apple’s motion to quash.
I. BACKGROUND
On March 2, -2012, IPCom filed an infringement action against Apple in Germany, asserting European patent EP 1 841 268. 2 On May 7, 2013, IPCom amended its complaint to include German patent DE 199 10 239. 3 IPCom alleges that the '268 and '239 patents are essential to the 3GPP UMTS wireless standard 4 and sought damages in excess of 1.5 billion. 5 The parties agree that it is common in German patent litigation for plaintiffs to seek judgment only on infringement and to defer judgment on damages to a second proceeding. 6 They also agree that IPCom’s decision to seek judgment on both infringement and damages in the initial proceeding is not barred by German procedural rules.
The parties engaged in extensive briefing on the patent infringement and damages issues before the…