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

Filing 397

ORDER by Judge Lucy H. Koh denying #241 Administrative Motion to File Under Seal; denying #242 Administrative Motion to File Under Seal (lhklc3, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 3/18/2013)

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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 corporation; SAMSUNG
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ELECTRONICS AMERICA, INC., a New York )
corporation; and SAMSUNG
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TELECOMMUNICATIONS AMERICA, LLC, )
a Delaware limited liability company,
)
)
Defendants.
)
)

Case No.: 12-CV-00630-LHK
ORDER DENYING ADMINISTRATIVE
MOTIONS TO FILE DOCUMENTS
UNDER SEAL

Before the Court are Apple and Samsung’s Renewed Administrative Motions to File Under

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Seal Documents Relating to Apple’s Motion for a Preliminary Injunction, ECF Nos. 241 and 242,

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submitted pursuant to the Court’s July 18, 2012 Order, ECF No. 238.

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Since filing these motions, a trial occurred in the related case involving the same parties,

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Apple v. Samsung, Case No. 11-CV-01846-LHK (“the 1846 case”), and the Court has issued eight

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Orders on the parties’ post-trial motions. Apple has already appealed one of these Orders. The

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parties have acknowledged that much of the evidence in the 1846 case and this action is

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overlapping. See ECF No. 80 at 2-3 (Stipulation and Proposed Order re Discovery). Through the

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trial and post-trial proceedings, some of the information that the parties seek to seal in these

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renewed motions has become publicly available. Consequently, some of the information that the
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Case No.: 12-CV-00630-LHK
ORDER DENYING ADMINISTRATIVE MOTIONS TO FILE DOCUMENTS UNDER SEAL

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parties seek to seal in these renewed motions is no longer entitled to protection from public view

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under either the “good cause” or “compelling reasons” standard. In addition, through the appeal

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and subsequent litigation of this Court’s ruling on Apple’s Motion for a Preliminary Injunction in

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the instant case, further information subject to these renewed motions may have become publicly

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available.

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Moreover, on August 9, 2012, this Court issued an Order in the related 1846 case granting

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in part and denying in part numerous administrative motions to seal documents. See Case No. 11-

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CV-01846-LHK, ECF No. 1649. The Court’s August 9, 2012 Order addressed many of the same

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types of documents that the parties seek seal in these renewed sealing motions: third-party

United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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research data; the parties’ financial information; licensing information; and business, market, and

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competitive strategy information. The parties have appealed this Court’s August 9, 2012 Order and

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other sealing Orders from this Court to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.

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In light of the documents that are no longer entitled to protection from public view and the

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Court’s further clarification of its sealing standards, the Court DENIES without prejudice Apple

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and Samsung’s Renewed Administrative Motions to File Under Seal Documents Relating to

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Apple’s Motion for a Preliminary Injunction.

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The parties may file renewed motions to seal within twenty-one days of the date of this

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Order. The parties shall not seek to seal any information that has already become part of the public

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record. In their renewed motions to seal, the parties shall identify what information is sealable

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pursuant to the Court’s August 9, 2012 Order and what information is not sealable pursuant to that

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Order. For the information that is not sealable pursuant to the Court’s August 9, 2012 Order, the

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parties shall request a stay of a sealing denial pending the Federal Circuit’s ruling on the appeal of

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this Court’s August 9, 2012 Order.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: March 18, 2013

_________________________________
LUCY H. KOH
United States District Judge

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Case No.: 12-CV-00630-LHK
ORDER DENYING ADMINISTRATIVE MOTIONS TO FILE DOCUMENTS UNDER SEAL