Finjan, Inc. v. Blue Coat Systems, Inc.

Filing 368

OMNIBUS ORDER REGARDING #350 #360 SEALING MOTIONS. Signed by Judge Beth Labson Freeman on 10/24/2017. (patentlcsjS, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 10/24/2017)

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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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FINJAN, INC.,
Plaintiff,

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BLUE COAT SYSTEMS, LLC,

[Re: ECF 350, 360]

Defendant.

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

OMNIBUS ORDER RE: SEALING
MOTIONS

v.

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Case No. 15-cv-03295-BLF

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Before the Court are two administrative motions to file under seal, one from Plaintiff

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Finjan, Inc. (“Finjan”) and one from Defendant Blue Coat Systems, LLC (“Blue Coat”). ECF

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350, 360. Both relate to parties’ supplemental briefing on copying. See id. For the reasons set

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forth below, Finjan’s motion at ECF 350 is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART and

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Blue Coat’s motion at ECF 360 is DENIED without prejudice.

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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 & Cnty. 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)). Consequently, access to motions and their attachments that are

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“more than tangentially related to the merits of a case” may be sealed only upon a showing of

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“compelling reasons” for sealing. Ctr. for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp., LLC, 809 F.3d 1092,

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1101-02 (9th Cir. 2016). Filings that are only tangentially related to the merits may be sealed

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upon a lesser showing of “good cause.” Id. at 1097. In addition, sealing motions filed in this

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district must be “narrowly tailored to seek sealing only of sealable material.” Civil L.R. 79-5(b).

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A party moving to seal a document in whole or in part must file a declaration establishing that the

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identified material is “sealable.” Civ. L.R. 79-5(d)(1)(A). “Reference to a stipulation or

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protective order that allows a party to designate certain documents as confidential is not sufficient

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to establish that a document, or portions thereof, are sealable.” Id.

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II.

DISCUSSION
The Court has reviewed the parties’ sealing motions and the declarations submitted in

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support thereof. The Court finds that the parties have articulated compelling reasons and good

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cause to seal certain portions of the submitted documents. The proposed redactions are also

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narrowly tailored. The Court’s rulings on the sealing requests are set forth in the tables below:

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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A.
ECF
No.
350-4

ECF 350
Document to
be Sealed
Finjan’s
Supplemental
Brief on
Copying

350-6

Declaration of
Kristopher
Kastens in
support of
Finjan’s
Supplemental
Brief on
Copying, ECF
350-6 (“Kastens
Decl.”)
Ex. 2 to Kastens
Decl.

DENIED.

Ex. 3 to Kastens
Decl.

GRANTED.

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Result

Reasoning

GRANTED as
to p. 1 ll. 1527 and p. 2 ll.
1-8; DENIED
as to the
remainder.

Contains highly confidential information relating
to confidential aspects of Blue Coat’s business.
Declaration of Michael Guo in Support of Finjan’s
Administrative Motion to File Under Seal, ECF
356 (“Guo Finjan Sealing Decl.”) ¶ 5. The
remainder is denied because Blue Coat, the
designating party, has indicated that those portions
of this document do not contain confidential
information. Id.; Declaration of James Hannah in
Support of Finjan’s Administrative Motion to File
Under Seal, ECF 350-1 (“Hannah Decl.”) ¶ 4.
Blue Coat, the designating party, has indicated that
those portions of this document do not contain
confidential information. Guo Finjan Sealing
Decl. ¶ 6; Hannah Decl. ¶ 5.

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350-8

GRANTED.

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350-10

Contains highly confidential and sensitive Blue
Coat competitive and business information, which
is not publicly disclosed. Guo Finjan Sealing
Decl. ¶ 7.
Contains highly confidential and sensitive Blue
Coat competitive and business information, which
is not publicly disclosed. Guo Finjan Sealing
Decl. ¶ 8.

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2

350-11

Ex. 4 to Kastens
Decl.

GRANTED.

350-13

Ex. 5 to Kastens
Decl.

GRANTED.

350-15

Ex. 6 to Kastens
Decl.

GRANTED.

350-17

Ex. 7 to Kastens
Decl.

GRANTED.

350-19

Ex. 8 to Kastens
Decl.

GRANTED.

350-21

Ex. 9 to Kastens
Decl.

GRANTED.

350-23

Ex. 10 to
Kastens Decl.

GRANTED.

350-25

Ex. 11 to
Kastens Decl.

GRANTED.

350-27

Ex. 12 to
Kastens Decl.

DENIED.

350-29

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Ex. 13 to
Kastens Decl.

GRANTED.

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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B.
ECF
No.

ECF 360
Document to
be Sealed

Contains highly confidential and sensitive Blue
Coat competitive and business information, which
is not publicly disclosed. Guo Finjan Sealing
Decl. ¶ 9.
Contains highly confidential and sensitive Blue
Coat competitive and business information, which
is not publicly disclosed. Guo Finjan Sealing
Decl. ¶ 10.
Contains highly confidential and sensitive Blue
Coat competitive and business information, which
is not publicly disclosed. Guo Finjan Sealing
Decl. ¶ 11.
Contains highly confidential and sensitive Blue
Coat competitive and business information, which
is not publicly disclosed. Guo Finjan Sealing
Decl. ¶ 12.
Contains highly confidential and sensitive Blue
Coat competitive and business information, which
is not publicly disclosed. Guo Finjan Sealing
Decl. ¶ 13.
Contains Blue Coat’s sensitive and highly
confidential technical information relating to Blue
Coat’s products, which is not publicly disclosed.
Guo Finjan Sealing Decl. ¶ 14.
Contains Blue Coat’s sensitive and highly
confidential technical information relating to Blue
Coat’s products, which is not publicly disclosed.
Guo Finjan Sealing Decl. ¶ 15.
Contains highly confidential and sensitive Blue
Coat competitive and business information, which
is not publicly disclosed. Guo Finjan Sealing
Decl. ¶ 16.
Blue Coat, the designating party, has indicated that
those portions of this document do not contain
confidential information. Guo Finjan Sealing
Decl. ¶ 17; Hannah Decl. ¶ 6.
Contains Blue Coat’s sensitive and highly
confidential technical information relating to the
accused products, which is not publicly disclosed.
Guo Finjan Sealing Decl. ¶ 18.

Result

Reasoning

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360-4

Blue Coat’s
Supplemental
Brief

DENIED
without
prejudice.

360-5

Ex. 6 to
Declaration of
Michael Guo in
Support of Blue
Coat’s
Supplemental
Brief, ECF 362
(“Guo Decl.”)
Ex. 7 to Guo
Decl.

DENIED
without
prejudice.

Finjan, the designating party, has not filed a
declaration in support of sealing. See Declaration
of Michael Guo in Support of Blue Coat’s
Administrative Motion to File Under Seal, ECF
356 (“Guo Blue Coat Sealing Decl.”) ¶ 5.
Finjan, the designating party, has not filed a
declaration in support of sealing. See Guo Blue
Coat Sealing Decl. ¶ 6.

DENIED
without
prejudice.
DENIED
without
prejudice.

Finjan, the designating party, has not filed a
declaration in support of sealing. See Guo Blue
Coat Sealing Decl. ¶ 7.
Finjan, the designating party, has not filed a
declaration in support of sealing. See Guo Blue
Coat Sealing Decl. ¶ 8.

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360-6

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360-7

Ex. 8 to Guo
Decl.

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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III.

ORDER
For the reasons set forth above, Finjan’s motion at ECF 350 is GRANTED IN PART and

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DENIED IN PART. Under Civil Local Rule 79-5(e)(2), for any request that has been denied

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because the party designating a document as confidential or subject to a protective order has not

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provided sufficient reasons to seal, the submitting party must file the unredacted (or lesser

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redacted) documents into the public record no earlier than 4 days and no later than 10 days from

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the filing of this order.

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Blue Coat’s motion at ECF 360 is DENIED without prejudice. Upon reviewing the

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submitted documents, the Court suspects that Finjan’s failure to submit a declaration in support of

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sealing may have been inadvertent. If any portions of these documents require sealing, Finjan

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shall submit a declaration no later than 4 days from the filing of this order. If no such declaration

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is submitted, Blue Coat’s motion will be DENIED with prejudice.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: October 24, 2017
______________________________________
BETH LABSON FREEMAN
United States District Judge
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