Sandisk Technologies, Inc. v. Viasat, Inc.

Background

The plaintiffs filed an administrative motion to seal in connection with their motion for leave to amend their infringement contentions. They sought to seal infringement-contention claim charts that included excerpts and quotations from Viasat’s information. The plaintiffs filed redacted versions of the claim charts as exhibits.

Legal standard

The court explained that judicial records generally receive a strong presumption of public access. Documents connected to a dispositive motion ordinarily require “compelling reasons” to be sealed. But documents attached to a nondispositive motion—one that does not resolve the case or a claim—are subject to the lower “good cause” standard under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c). That standard requires a particularized showing that disclosure would cause specific prejudice or harm.

Court’s analysis

The court determined that the motion to amend infringement contentions was nondispositive and only tangentially related to the underlying cause of action, so it applied the good-cause standard. Viasat represented that the claim charts disclosed confidential source code and information about the operation and inner workings of its products and proprietary technology. Viasat stated that competitors could use the information to replicate the product operation and source code, creating significant competitive harm.

The court noted that courts routinely seal confidential source code and product-operation information. It found that the claim charts disclosed Viasat’s confidential information and that the information was unrelated to the public’s understanding of the judicial proceedings.

Disposition

Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. granted the plaintiffs’ administrative motion to file under seal, Docket No. 145. Under Civil Local Rule 79-5(g)(1), the documents covered by the granted motion will remain under seal.