Privilege Shields Apple Lawyers From Subpoena

WASHINGTON (CN) - Eastman Kodak cannot depose Apple attorneys Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox about the patent-infringement dispute between the two companies, a federal judge ruled.

Kodak sued Apple in a New York federal court in 2010, alleging that its computers and mobile devices infringe on three Kodak computer-technology patents.

The photography giant subpoenaed Washington-based Sterne Kessler to answer questions about one of the patent-infringement counts because the firm represented Apple before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office during re-examination. The firm moved to quash the subpoena on the grounds that the deposition will "necessarily touch on information protected by attorney-client privilege and the work-product doctrine."

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell unsurprisingly agreed.

"The court concludes that deposition of the petitioner is not warranted and therefore grants the petitioner's motion to quash the respondent's subpoena," Howell wrote on Aug. 12.

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