Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. et al

Filing 38

ORDER by Judge Koh granting #30 Administrative Motion to File Under Seal. (lhklc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 5/10/2011)

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United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
SAN JOSE DIVISION
APPLE INC., a California corporation,

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Plaintiff,
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v.
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SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., A
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Korean business entity; SAMSUNG
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ELECTRONICS AMERICA, INC., a New York )
corporation; SAMSUNG
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TELECOMMUNICATIONS AMERICA, LLC, )
a Delaware limited liability company,
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Defendants.
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)
)

Case No.: 11-CV-01846-LHK
ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO FILE
DOCUMENTS UNDER SEAL

On May 5, 2011, Defendants Samsung Electronics America, Inc. and Samsung

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Telecommunications America, LLC (collectively “Samsung”) moved to file the following

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documents under seal: (1) the unredacted version of Samsung’s opposition to Plaintiff’s motion for

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expedited discovery; (2) the declaration of Brian Rosenberg in support of Samsung’s opposition;

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and (3) the declaration of Travis Merril in support of Samsung’s opposition. Samsung represents

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that Plaintiff Apple Inc. does not oppose the motion.

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Where, as here, a party seeks to seal documents attached to a non-dispositive motion, the

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Ninth Circuit requires a showing of good cause to justify the sealing of those documents.

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Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180 (9th Cir. 2006). In addition, the

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Local Rules of this Court require that all requests to file under seal be “narrowly tailored to seek
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Case No.: 11-CV-01846-LHK
ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO FILE DOCUMENTS UNDER SEAL

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sealing only of sealable material.” Civ. L.R. 79-5(a). Here, Samsung claims that good cause exists

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to seal the material requested because it contains confidential information relating to unreleased

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product launch dates, Samsung’s total number of employees, and the number of employees

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involved in the design and marketing of the products at issue. The Court agrees that the

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declarations Samsung seeks to seal consist almost entirely of such confidential information, and

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sealing of these documents is therefore appropriate. In addition, Samsung has narrowly tailored the

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redactions of its opposition brief to seal only material that incorporates the sealable information

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contained in the declarations. The Court thus finds that good cause exists to seal these documents

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and GRANTS Samsung’s motion to file under seal.

United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: May 10, 2011

_________________________________
LUCY H. KOH
United States District Judge

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Case No.: 11-CV-01846-LHK
ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO FILE DOCUMENTS UNDER SEAL