Tessera, Inc. v. Toshiba Corporation

Filing 225

OMNIBUS ORDER RE: 211 , 213 , 218 ADMINISTRATIVE MOTIONS TO SEAL DOCUMENTS. Signed by Judge Beth Labson Freeman on 10/24/2016. (blflc2S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 10/24/2016)

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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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TESSERA, INC.,

Case No. 15-cv-02543-BLF

Plaintiff,
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v.
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TOSHIBA CORPORATION,
Defendant.

OMNIBUS ORDER RE:
ADMINISTRATIVE MOTIONS TO
SEAL DOCUMENTS
[Re: ECF 211, 213, 218]

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Before the Court are three administrative motions to seal, two from Defendant Toshiba

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Corp., and one from Plaintiff Tessera, Inc. See ECF 211, 213, 218. The motions relate to

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Toshiba’s motion to extend the time to complete discovery and the hearing on the parties’ motions

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for partial summary judgment. For the reasons discussed below, the motions are GRANTED.

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I.

LEGAL STANDARD
“Historically, courts have recognized a ‘general right to inspect and copy public records

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and documents, including judicial records and documents.’” Kamakana v. City & Cty. of

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Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2006) (quoting Nixon v. Warner Commc’ns, Inc., 435

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U.S. 589, 597 & n. 7 (1978)). Accordingly, when considering a sealing request, “a ‘strong

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presumption in favor of access’ is the starting point.” Id. (quoting Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto.

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Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 1122, 1135 (9th Cir. 2003)). Parties seeking to seal judicial records relating to

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motions that are “more than tangentially related to the underlying cause of action” bear the burden

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of overcoming the presumption with “compelling reasons” that outweigh the general history of

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access and the public policies favoring disclosure. Ctr. for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp., 809 F.3d

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1092, 1099 (9th Cir. 2016); Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1178–79.

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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.” Apple Inc. v. Samsung Elecs. Co., Ltd., 727 F.3d 1214, 1228–29 (Fed.

Cir. 2013). Records attached to motions that are “not related, or only tangentially related, to the

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merits of a case” therefore are not subject to the strong presumption of access. Ctr. for Auto

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Safety, 809 F.3d at 1099; see also Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179 (“[T]he public has less of a need

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for access to court records attached only to non-dispositive motions because those documents are

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often unrelated, or only tangentially related, to the underlying cause of action.”). Parties moving

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to seal the documents attached to such motions must meet the lower “good cause” standard of

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Rule 26(c). Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179 (internal quotations and citations omitted). This

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standard requires a “particularized showing,” id., that “specific prejudice or harm will result” if the

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information is disclosed. Phillips ex rel. Estates of Byrd v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206,

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1210–11 (9th Cir. 2002); see Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c). “Broad allegations of harm, unsubstantiated

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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by specific examples of articulated reasoning” will not suffice. Beckman Indus., Inc. v. Int’l Ins.

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Co., 966 F.2d 470, 476 (9th Cir. 1992). A protective order sealing the documents during

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discovery may reflect the court’s previous determination that good cause exists to keep the

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documents sealed, see Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179–80, but a blanket protective order that allows

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the parties to designate confidential documents does not provide sufficient judicial scrutiny to

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determine whether each particular document should remain sealed. See Civ. L.R. 79-5(d)(1)(A)

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(“Reference to a stipulation or protective order that allows a party to designate certain documents

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as confidential is not sufficient to establish that a document, or portions thereof, are sealable.”).

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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 Civ. L.R.

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

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“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

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must conform with Civil L.R. 79-5(d).” Civ. L.R. 79-5(b). In part, Civ. L.R. 79-5(d) requires the

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submitting party to attach a “proposed order that is narrowly tailored to seal only the sealable

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material” which “lists in table format each document or portion thereof that is sought to be

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sealed,” Civ. L.R. 79-5(d)(1)(b), and an “unredacted version of the document” that indicates “by

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highlighting or other clear method, the portions of the document that have been omitted from the
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redacted version.” Civ. L.R. 79-5(d)(1)(d). “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

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79-5(d)(1)(A) establishing that all of the designated material is sealable.” Civ. L.R. 79-5(e)(1).

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II.

DISCUSSION
The sealing motions at issue are resolved under different standards. The motions related to

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Toshiba’s motion to extend the time to complete discovery (ECF 211, 218) are resolved under the

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good cause standard because the underlying motion is not a dispositive motion. Toshiba’s motion

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to file under seal portions of the September 22, 2016 hearing transcript on summary judgment,

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however, is resolved under the compelling reasons standard because a hearing on summary
judgment is more than tangentially related to the merits of this case. With the standards in mind,

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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the Court rules on the instant motions as follows:

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ECF
No.
211-4

Document to be
Sealed
Portions of the
Motion to Change
Time

211-5

Ex. C to the
Declaration of
Fangzhou Qiu in
Support of Toshiba’s
Motion to Change
Time

GRANTED.

211-6

Ex. E to the
Declaration of
Fangzhou Qiu in
Support of Toshiba’s
Motion to Change
Time

GRANTED.

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Result

Reasoning

GRANTED.

The redacted portions include information
related to Toshiba’s royalty payments
pursuant to confidential license agreements
between Toshiba and Tessera; findings of
confidential royalty compliance inspections;
and the business relationships between
Tessera and a third-party service provider.
Contains information pertaining to the license
terms and patents/technology involved in
confidential license agreements between
Toshiba and Tessera, confidential
communications between Toshiba and
Tessera, and royalty payments made by
Toshiba pursuant to confidential license
agreements.
Contain confidential information related to
Tessera’s business relationship with a thirdparty service provider.

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211-7

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211-8

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211-9

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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211-10

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211-12
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211-14

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211-16
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Ex. F to the
Declaration of
Fangzhou Qiu in
Support of Toshiba’s
Motion to Change
Time
Ex. G to the
Declaration of
Fangzhou Qiu in
Support of Toshiba’s
Motion to Change
Time
Ex. H to the
Declaration of
Fangzhou Qiu in
Support of Toshiba’s
Motion to Change
Time
Portions of Ex. N to
the Declaration of
Fangzhou Qiu in
Support of Toshiba’s
Motion to Change
Time
Portions of Ex. O to
the Declaration of
Fangzhou Qiu in
Support of Toshiba’s
Motion to Change
Time
Portions of Ex. P to
the Declaration of
Fangzhou Qiu in
Support of Toshiba’s
Motion to Change
Time
Identified Portions of
Ex. Q to the
Declaration of
Fangzhou Qiu in
Support of Toshiba’s
Motion to Change
Time

GRANTED.

Contain confidential information related to
Tessera’s business relationship with a thirdparty service provider.

GRANTED.

Contain confidential information related to
Tessera’s business relationship with a thirdparty service provider.

GRANTED.

Contain confidential information related to
Tessera’s business relationship with a thirdparty service provider.

GRANTED.

Contain confidential address information and
personal or private information of individuals
and third parties.

GRANTED.

Contain confidential address information and
personal or private information of individuals
and third parties.

GRANTED.

Contain confidential address information and
personal or private information of individuals
and third parties.

GRANTED.

Contain confidential address information and
personal or private information of individuals
and third parties.

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211-18

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211-20

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211-22

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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211-24

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Identified Portions of
Ex. R to the
Declaration of
Fangzhou Qiu in
Support of Toshiba’s
Motion to Change
Time
Identified Portions of
Ex. S to the
Declaration of
Fangzhou Qiu in
Support of Toshiba’s
Motion to Change
Time
Identified Portions of
Ex. W to the
Declaration of
Fangzhou Qiu in
Support of Toshiba’s
Motion to Change
Time
Ex. X to the
Declaration of
Fangzhou Qiu in
Support of Toshiba’s
Motion to Change
Time

GRANTED.

Contain confidential address information and
personal or private information of individuals
and third parties.

GRANTED.

Contain confidential address information and
personal or private information of individuals
and third parties.

GRANTED.

Contains confidential emails, telephone, and
facsimile numbers of Toshiba, Tessera, and
KMPG personnel.

GRANTED.

Summarizes the results of KPMG’s inspection
of royalty reporting by Toshiba allegedly
pursuant to confidential license agreements.
Contains information pertaining to the license
terms and patents / technology involved in
confidential license agreements between
Toshiba and Tessera and confidential data
regarding Toshiba product types,
manufacturing, sales timing and volumes, and
royalty payments, and confidential
communications between Toshiba and KPMG
regarding such inspections.
Contain information pertaining to the terms
and technologies involved in confidential
license agreements between the parties;
confidential communications between the
parties regarding the terms, technologies,
patents, products, and royalty obligations
related to their confidential license
agreements; confidential communications
between Toshiba and a third-party service
provider related to confidential license
agreements between the parties; and
confidential license agreements between
Tessera and third-party licensees and their
confidential communications.

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213-3

Identified Portions of GRANTED.
the Transcript of the
September 22, 2016
Hearing on
Summary Judgment

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218-4

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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218-6

Identified Portions of GRANTED.
Ex. 2 to the
Declaration of Kim
Meyer in Support of
Tessera’s Opposition
to Toshiba’s Motion
to Change Time
Identified Portions of GRANTED.
Ex. 3 to the
Declaration of Kim
Meyer in Support of
Tessera’s Opposition
to Toshiba’s Motion
to Change Time

References the confidential findings of
KPMG’s audits of Toshiba.

References the confidential findings of
KPMG’s audits of Toshiba.

For the foregoing reasons, the sealing motions at ECF 211, 213, and 218 are GRANTED.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: October 24, 2016
______________________________________
BETH LABSON FREEMAN
United States District Judge

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