PALM COMPUTING, INC. v. ECHOLINK DESIGN LTD. AND ANOTHER

PALM COMPUTING, INC. v. ECHOLINK DESIGN LTD. AND ANOTHER

The court ordered production and inspection of the whole of the Plaintiff's source code because the defence experts' evidence established that full access was material and necessary for a fair disposal of the action and for expert assessment of alleged copying; partial disclosure would be insufficient since the source code files are interrelated and context-dependent; confidentiality concerns to be addressed by agreed protective terms.

Citation
PALM COMPUTING, INC. v. ECHOLINK DESIGN LTD. AND ANOTHER
Parties
Plaintiff: Palm Computing, Inc.; 1st Defendant: Echolink Design Limited; 2nd Defendant: Kessel Electronics (H.K.) Limited
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
29 September 2000
Case Number
HCA13420/1999
Procedural Posture
Copyright Infringement; Interlocutory Applications for Production/inspection of Source Code / Hearing of Summonses for Production and Inspection; Reasons for Decision on Disclosure (interlocutory)
Outcome
Ordered production and inspection of the whole of the Plaintiff's Palm OS and Palm OS SDK source code; parties to agree precise terms (timing and confidentiality safeguards); specific costs orders made.
Legal Topics
Copyright Infringement, Source Code Disclosure, Inspection of Documents, Anton Piller Order, Confidentiality Undertakings, Costs
Source Language
EN
Intellectual Property Civil Procedure Evidence Confidentiality Copyright Infringement Source Code Disclosure Inspection of Documents Anton Piller Order +2 more

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Parties

Palm Computing, Inc.

Plaintiff

Echolink Design Limited

1st Defendant

Kessel Electronics (H.K.) Limited

2nd Defendant

Procedural Posture

Copyright Infringement; Interlocutory Applications for Production/inspection of Source Code / Hearing of Summonses for Production and Inspection; Reasons for Decision on Disclosure (interlocutory)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the whole of the Plaintiff's source code must be produced and inspected by the defendants
  2. 2 Whether production of the whole source code is necessary for the fair disposal of the action or for saving costs (Ord 24 r13)
  3. 3 How to treat confidentiality and trade secret concerns when ordering production

Ratio Decidendi

The court ordered production and inspection of the whole of the Plaintiff's source code because the defence experts' evidence established that full access was material and necessary for a fair disposal of the action and for expert assessment of alleged copying; partial disclosure would be insufficient since the source code files are interrelated and context-dependent; confidentiality concerns to be addressed by agreed protective terms.

Court Disposition

Ordered production and inspection of the whole of the Plaintiff's Palm OS and Palm OS SDK source code; parties to agree precise terms (timing and confidentiality safeguards); specific costs orders made.

Orders

  • Production and inspection of the whole of the Plaintiff's source codes (Palm OS and Palm OS SDK) to be provided to the defendants; terms as to timing and confidentiality to be agreed between parties
  • Para. 1 of the Plaintiff's summons dated 8 March 2000 to be paid by the 1st Defendant to the Plaintiff in any event