Apple and Psystar file joint motion to enter Stipulated Protective Order

On February 26 2009, Apple and Psystar requested that the Court allow them to enter a Stipulated Protective Order. Since some of you have asked me what this means, let me take the opportunity to explain what this means.

What a Stipulated Protective Order does is that it allows the parties to guard against the disclosure of trade secrets (including, but not limited to software code). The stipulation extends to deposition testimony and summaries of protected information that are filed with Court. This means that this material will either be sealed by the court (in which case we won't see it), or redacted if that is possible.

Oh, and before anyone starts making tinfoil hat claims as to why this order was made, this sort of thing is perfectly normal in cases that touch on intellectual property. What's more, this requests was made by both sides, so it's clear that both Apple and Psystar have information they don't want to see out in the public domain.