GSI Technology, Inc. v. United Memories, Inc.

Filing 347

ORDER: MOTIONS TO SEAL by Judge Paul S. Grewal granting in part and denying in part 337 ; granting 330 ; granting 324 ; granting in part and denying in part 321 ; granting in part and denying in part 318 ; granting 316 . (psglc1S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 1/14/2015).

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United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SAN JOSE DIVISION

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GSI TECHNOLOGY, INC.,

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Plaintiff,
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v.
UNITED MEMORIES, INC. and
INTEGRATED SILICON SOLUTION, INC.,
Defendants.

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Case No.: 5:13-cv-01081-PSG
ORDER: MOTIONS TO SEAL
(Re: Docket Nos. 316, 318, 321, 324, 330,
337)

Before the court are six administrative motions to seal 22 documents. “Historically, courts

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have recognized a ‘general right to inspect and copy public records and documents, including

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judicial records and documents.’”1 Accordingly, when considering a sealing request, “a ‘strong

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presumption in favor of access’ is the starting point.”2 Parties seeking to seal judicial records

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Kamakana v. City & County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2006) (quoting Nixon v.
Warner Commc’ns, Inc., 435 U.S. 589, 597 & n. 7 (1978)).
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Id. (quoting Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 1122, 1135 (9th Cir. 2003)).
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Case No.: 5:13-cv-01081-PSG
ORDER: MOTIONS TO SEAL

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relating to dispositive motions bear the burden of overcoming the presumption with “compelling
reasons” that outweigh the general history of access and the public policies favoring disclosure.3

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However, “while protecting the public's interest in access to the courts, we must remain

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mindful of the parties' right to access those same courts upon terms which will not unduly harm

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their competitive interest.”4 Records attached to nondispositive motions therefore are not subject

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to the strong presumption of access.5 Because the documents attached to nondispositive motions

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“are often unrelated, or only tangentially related, to the underlying cause of action,” parties moving
to seal must meet the lower “good cause” standard of Rule 26(c).6 As with dispositive motions, the

United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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standard applicable to nondispositive motions requires a “particularized showing”7 that “specific

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prejudice or harm will result” if the information is disclosed.8 “Broad allegations of harm,

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unsubstantiated by specific examples of articulated reasoning” will not suffice.9 A protective order

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sealing the documents during discovery may reflect the court’s previous determination that good
cause exists to keep the documents sealed,10 but a blanket protective order that allows the parties to

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designate confidential documents does not provide sufficient judicial scrutiny to determine whether
each particular document should remain sealed.11

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Id. at 1178-79.

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Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., 727 F.3d 1214, 1228-29 (Fed. Cir. 2013).

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See id. at 1180.

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Id. at 1179 (internal quotations and citations omitted).

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Id.

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Phillips ex rel. Estates of Byrd v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002);
see Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c).

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Beckman Indus., Inc. v. Int’l Ins. Co., 966 F.2d 470, 476 (9th Cir. 1992).
See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179-80.

See Civ. L.R. 79-5(d)(1)(A) (“Reference to a stipulation or protective order that allows a party to
designate certain documents as confidential is not sufficient to establish that a document, or
portions thereof, are sealable.”).
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Case No.: 5:13-cv-01081-PSG
ORDER: MOTIONS TO SEAL

In addition to making particularized showings of good cause, parties moving to seal

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documents must comply with the procedures established by Civ. L.R. 79-5. Pursuant to

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Civ. L.R. 79-5(b), a sealing order is appropriate only upon a request that establishes the document

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is “sealable,” or “privileged or protectable as a trade secret or otherwise entitled to protection under

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the law.” “The request must be narrowly tailored to seek sealing only of sealable material, and
must conform with Civil L.R. 79-5(d).”12 “Within 4 days of the filing of the Administrative

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Motion to File Under Seal, the Designating Party must file a declaration as required by subsection
79-5(d)(1)(A) establishing that all of the designated material is sealable.”13
With these standards in mind, the courts rules on the instant motions as follows:

United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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Motion
Docket No.
316

Document to be Sealed
GSI’s December 16,
2014 Letter Brief in
Support of its Motion to
Compel

Docket No.
316

Exhibit C

Docket No.
316

Exhibit D

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Result
2¶5:2-4 (from after “with
UMI” to before “ISSI’s
position”); 2¶5:5-end (after
“understood term”); 3¶1:7-end
(after “ See Ex ”); 3¶2:3-end
(after first sentence); 4¶5:2end (after first sentence);
5¶1:5-end (after “litigation”);
5¶3:4-end (after
“identification”) SEALED.
Remainder UNSEALED.
7:15-8:4; 8:23-9:4; 9:26-10:7;
11:1-12:3; 13:4-14:22; 18:618:10; 22:11-22:21 SEALED.
Remainder UNSEALED.

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5:16-24 (after “responses” to
end of paragraph); 5:25-28
(after “Consent” to end of
paragraph); 6:8-18; 7:4-17
(after “Limitations” to end of
paragraph) SEALED.
Remainder UNSEALED.

Reason/Explanation
Only sealed portions
narrowly tailored to
confidential business
information and
supported by a
declaration.

Only sealed portions
narrowly tailored to
confidential business
information and
supported by a
declaration.
Only sealed portions
narrowly tailored to
confidential business
information.

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Civ. L.R. 79-5(b). In part, Civ. L.R. 79-5(d) requires the submitting party to attach a “proposed
order that is narrowly tailored to seal only the sealable material” which “lists in table format each
document or portion thereof that is sought to be sealed,” Civ. L.R. 79-5(d)(1)(b), and an
“unreadacted version of the document” that indicates “by highlighting or other clear method, the
portions of the document that have been omitted from the redacted version.”
Civ. L.R. 79-5(d)(1)(d).

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Civ. L.R. 79-5(e)(1).
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Case No.: 5:13-cv-01081-PSG
ORDER: MOTIONS TO SEAL

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Docket No.
316
Docket No.
316
Docket No.
316

Exhibit E

UNSEALED.

Exhibit F

UNSEALED.

Exhibit G

1¶3 – 2¶4; 3¶6 SEALED.
Remainder UNSEALED.

Docket No.
316

Exhibit H

SEALED in its entirety.

Docket No.
316

Exhibit I

SEALED in its entirety.

Docket No.
318

GSI’s December 16, 2014 Redacted portions SEALED.
Letter Brief in Opposition
to ISSI’s Motion to
Compel
Declaration of Constance ¶10-¶17 SEALED.
F. Ramos in Support of
UMI’s Motion for
Summary Judgment
Exhibit A
UNSEALED.

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United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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Docket No.
321

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Docket No.
321
Docket No.
321

Exhibit B

UNSEALED.

Docket No.
321

Exhibit C

UNSEALED.

Docket No.
321

Exhibit D

SEALED in its entirety.

Docket No.
321
Docket No.
324

Exhibit E

UNSEALED.

ISSI’s December 18,
2014 Reply in Support of
its Motion to Compel

Redacted portions SEALED.

Docket No.
324

Exhibit E

SEALED in its entirety.

Docket No.
324

Exhibit F

SEALED in its entirety.

Docket No.
330

ISSI’s December 19,
2014 Letter Brief in
Opposition to GSI’s
Motion to Compel
Exhibit J

Redacted portions SEALED.

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Docket No.
330

SEALED in its entirety.

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Case No.: 5:13-cv-01081-PSG
ORDER: MOTIONS TO SEAL

No supporting
declaration filed.
No supporting
declaration filed.
Only sealed portions
narrowly tailored to
confidential business
information and
supported by a
declaration.
Narrowly tailored to
confidential business
information.
Narrowly tailored to
confidential business
information.
Sealed portions
narrowly tailored to
confidential business
information.
Sealed portions
narrowly tailored to
confidential business
information.
Not narrowly tailored
to confidential
business information.
Not narrowly tailored
to confidential
business information.
Not narrowly tailored
to confidential
business information.
Narrowly tailored to
confidential source
code and know how.
Pages filed are
unintelligible.
Sealed portions
narrowly tailored to
confidential business
information.
Narrowly tailored to
confidential technical
knowledge.
Narrowly tailored to
confidential technical
knowledge.
Sealed portions
narrowly tailored to
confidential business
information.
Narrowly tailored to
confidential business
information.

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Docket No.
330

Exhibit K

SEALED in its entirety.

Docket No.
337

GSI’s December 24, 2014 2¶1:4-10 (after “with regard to
Reply in Support of its
Interrogatory No. 9” to before
Motion to Compel
“ISSI further contends”)
SEALED. Remainder
UNSEALED.

Narrowly tailored to
confidential business
information.
Only sealed portions
narrowly tailored to
confidential business
information and
supported by a
declaration.

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SO ORDERED.

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Dated: January 14, 2015

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_________________________________
PAUL S. GREWAL
United States Magistrate Judge

United States District Court
For the Northern District of California

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Case No.: 5:13-cv-01081-PSG
ORDER: MOTIONS TO SEAL