1. Key takeaways
Information on the profit margin may be subject to confidentiality if it is not available from publicly accessible sources
The Claimant has not questioned the fact that information on the profit margin may constitute confidential information if it is not available from publicly accessible sources.
Insofar as the Claimant instead refers to the fact that the Defendant's profit margin can be viewed on several online portals and is therefore not to be classified as particularly confidential, the information that can be accessed there has not been validated by the Defendant. For this reason alone, it is not comparable with the information classified as confidential.
As the Defendants have explained in detail, they take extensive measures to minimize the risk of loss of control over this sensitive data. According to the defendants, the profit margin is only known to a limited number of individuals within their company.
Against this background, even the knowledge of which employees have access to this information appears to be valuable and confidential in itself. It is therefore justified to also include the names of the employees concerned in the protection of secrecy.
Information that certain products do not support certain functionalities may be subject to confidentiality
Insofar as the Claimant objects to the classification of certain annexes as confidential on the grounds that they merely negate the Claimant's submission on the functionality of the contested embodiment without explaining how the products in dispute otherwise function, the Defendants point out that the information that certain products do not support certain functionalities may also be confidential. The existence of a negative fact therefore does not per se exclude the need for confidentiality. The Claimant did not raise any further objections on this point. There are therefore no objections to the classification of the information in question as confidential.
With regard to the technical information, the Defendants have explained that the group of individuals with the relevant detailed knowledge is not publicly known. Since such knowledge carries the potential for targeted attacks in order to gain access to confidential information regarding specific, secret functionalities, it appears justified to classify the relevant information as confidential.
2. Division
Duesseldorf Local Division
3. UPC number
UPC_CFI_99/2024
4. Type of proceedings
Infringement proceedings; order for confidentiality
5. Parties
Ona Patents SL (Claimant)
Apple entities (Defendants; Apple Inc., Apple Distribution International Ltd., Apple Retail Germany B.V. & Co. KG, Apple GmbH, Apple Retail France EURL)
6. Patent(s)
EP 2 263 098
7. Body of legislation / Rules
Rule 262A RoP
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