Lone Star Silicon Innovations LLC v. Semiconductor Manufacturing International…

Background

Lone Star Silicon Innovations LLC sought to file under seal parts of briefing and exhibits connected with defendants’ motion to dismiss for lack of standing. The materials concerned a patent-transfer agreement between Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. and Lone Star, the agreement itself, and an amendment to it. The motions to seal were identified as Docket Nos. 94, 99, and 102.

Reasoning

The court explained that judicial records carry a strong presumption of public access. Because the sealing requests concerned records connected with a dispositive motion, the parties needed to show compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings that outweighed the public’s interest in disclosure.

The court found that the claimed competitive harm was stated only in general terms and that speculation about competitors using the information was not sufficiently specific. It also held that confidentiality designations and agreements do not, by themselves, make documents eligible for sealing. The requests were not narrowly tailored because they sought to redact large portions of the briefing. Finally, the court noted that the patent-transfer agreement had already been publicly disclosed except for bank-account information, and that the agreement’s terms had already been publicly discussed in another order.

Ruling

Judge William Alsup denied the administrative motions to file under seal. The parties were ordered to file unredacted versions of the documents on the public docket by noon on October 4, 2019.