Tessera, Inc. v. Motorola, Inc. et al

Filing 199

ORDER by Judge Claudia Wilken GRANTING 194 MOTION TO SEAL. (ndr, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 8/10/2012)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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TESSERA, INC.,

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Plaintiff,
v.

United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

ORDER GRANTING
MOTION TO SEAL
(Docket No. 194)

MOTOROLA, INC.; QUALCOMM, INC.;
FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR, INC.;
ATI TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; and ATI
TECHNOLOGIES ULC,
Defendants.

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No. C 12-692 CW

________________________________/
Defendant Qualcomm, Inc. moves on behalf of itself, Freescale

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Semiconductor, Inc., Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., ATI
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Technologies ULC, Spansion, Inc., Spansion Technology, Inc.,
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Spansion, LLC, STMicroelectronics, Inc., and STMicroelectronics
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N.V. to seal to Exhibit A to the Declaration of David H. Dolkas in
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support of their motion for partial summary judgment and portions
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of their memorandum of points and authorities that cite and quote
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from Exhibit A.

Exhibit A contains a license agreement entered

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into by Tessera, Inc. and third-party Motorola, Inc.

Tessera and

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Motorola Mobility LLC, previously a segment of Motorola, Inc. and
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successor-in-interest to the rights of Motorola, Inc. under the
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license agreement, have submitted declarations in support of the
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motion to seal.

See Docket Nos. 196 and 197.

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The parties seek to seal records connected to a dispositive
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motion.

To establish that the documents are sealable, the party

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who has designated them as confidential “must overcome a strong
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presumption of access by showing that ‘compelling reasons
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supported by specific factual findings . . . outweigh the general

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history of access and the public policies favoring disclosure.’”

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Pintos v. Pac. Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 679 (9th Cir. 2010)

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(citation omitted).

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stringent “good cause” standard is applied to sealed discovery

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documents attached to non-dispositive motions).

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established simply by showing that the document is subject to a

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protective order or by stating in general terms that the material

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is considered to be confidential, but rather must be supported by

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United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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a sworn declaration demonstrating with particularity the need to

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file each document under seal.

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Cf. id. at 678 (explaining that a less

This cannot be

Civil Local Rule 79-5(a).

Motorola Mobility attests that public disclosure of the

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license agreement would place it a competitive disadvantage in

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entering into future license agreements by providing others in the

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market with “information that they would otherwise not have about

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Motorola Mobility’s licensing terms and practices that would

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provide” them with “a strategic negotiation advantage.”

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Decl. ¶ 8.

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competitive market” and that public disclosure would give its

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competitors information about its licensing practices and “insight

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regarding costs associated with Motorola Mobility’s products” that

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would grant the competitors a “strategic advantage in terms of

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competing against Motorola Mobility in the market.”

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Miller

It further attests that it operates in a “highly

Id. at ¶ 9.

Having reviewed Exhibit A and the memorandum of points and

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authorities, the Court concludes that Motorola Mobility has

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established that Exhibit A and the references thereto in the

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memorandum are sealable.

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under seal is GRANTED (Docket No. 194).

Accordingly, Qualcomm’s motion to file

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Within three days of the

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date of this Order, Qualcomm shall electronically file under seal

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Exhibit A and the unredacted memorandum of points and authorities

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and shall file the redacted memorandum in the public record.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated:

8/10/2012

CLAUDIA WILKEN
United States District Judge

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United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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