U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal in San Jose ordered Google to disclose to Apple the search terms it is using to discover documents requested as part of Apple’s lawsuit against Samsung.
Apple had requested the terms earlier this week and Google balked, suggesting that the information could give Apple an advantage in the future. “The court cannot help but note the irony that Google, a pioneer in searching the Internet, is arguing that it would be unduly burdened by producing a list of how it searched its own files,” said Judge Grewal.
Google has two days to disclose the search terms to Apple. Apple believes that Google’s Android operating system provides the “underlying functionality” in a number of Samsung smartphones that Apple alleges are infringing on its patents.
