Unlockd Media, Inc. Liquidation Trust v. Google LLC

Background

Unlockd Media, Inc. Liquidation Trust filed administrative motions to seal portions of its original complaint and First Amended Complaint. The plaintiff sought to protect confidential business and financial information about its technology startup, which allowed smartphone users to receive advertisements when unlocking their phones in exchange for reward points.

The information included advertising-partner click-through rates, average revenue per smartphone user, the dollar values of rewards, user attrition rates, and prospective partners. The plaintiff argued that competitors could use those details to gain an unfair advantage when developing and negotiating competing products.

Legal standard

The court explained that filings connected to dispositive motions generally require “compelling reasons” to overcome the strong presumption of public access. Documents tied to nondispositive motions are generally subject to the lower “good cause” standard. Because a complaint is the foundation of an action, the court applied the compelling-reasons standard to both motions.

Court’s reasoning

The court noted that the original complaint was not relied on because the plaintiff filed the First Amended Complaint before Google answered. As a result, the original complaint was less important to the public’s understanding of the proceedings. The court also found that the confidential business information identified by the plaintiff satisfied the compelling-reasons standard because disclosure could allow competitors to gain insight into the company’s business model and strategy.

Disposition

The court granted the motion to seal the original complaint and granted the motion to seal the First Amended Complaint. Under the court’s order, the documents covered by the granted motions will remain under seal.