In a trial in open court, does it matter if confidential settlement information comes up—and subsequently gets sealed—if no one besides the parties involved is there to hear it?

That "if a tree falls in the forest" type of defense is what I expected to see from Arendi and its lawyers at Susman Godfrey in the case where Apple is seeking sanctions against them and an expert witness who aired some confidential settlement information during Arendi's recent patent trial against Google in Delaware federal court. But the first response Arendi's  local counsel filed over the weekend was much more full-throated and, frankly, interesting.

As we previously noted, Apple, represented by Brian Biggs of DLA Piper, filed its motion for sanctions last week after expert witness Roy Weinstein testified in Arendi's recent patent infringement trial against Google about a license payment and damages demand in Arendi's case against Apple, which settled confidentially in 2021. Apple's lawyers argued that airing what it paid to license Arendi's patents could benefit Arendi's broader licensing regime and Susman's litigation strategy "in this and other cases."