An appellate court has intervened into U.S. District Chief Judge Colm Connolly of the District of Delaware’s unprecedented inquiry into patent assertion entity (PAE) litigation funding.

The PAEs accuse Connolly of overstepping his authority, and even one accused-infringer appears to have some concerns about the level of transparency Connolly is seeking. European industrial ABB Inc. asked the judge for a protective order Monday to cover a range of information that could be made public when patentee Lamplight Licensing LLC complies with Connolly’s Nov. 10 disclosure order.