VLSI Technology LLC v. Intel Corporation

Background

VLSI Technology LLC filed an administrative motion asking the court to consider sealing portions of two reply briefs and their exhibits. The briefs supported VLSI’s corrected motions to exclude Intel’s experts’ damages opinions and technical opinions. The court said those motions concerned patent infringement and invalidity issues.

Intel submitted a declaration supporting the request to seal selected portions of a single exhibit. Intel argued that the material disclosed confidential information about its product designs and operation, proposed designs, manufacturing processes, manufacturing capacity, and the accused product features. Intel stated that disclosure could put it at a competitive disadvantage because competitors could use the information in their own products and development strategies.

Legal standard

The court explained that judicial records generally carry a strong presumption of public access. Because the materials were associated with motions concerning issues more than tangentially related to the case’s merits, the party seeking continued confidentiality had to provide compelling reasons that outweighed the public’s interest in access. The request also had to be narrowly tailored.

Ruling

The court found compelling reasons to seal the highlighted portions of Exhibit 43. It stated that the green-boxed portions on pages 47 and 69 revealed highly confidential information about design details and operation of accused product features, features considered for incorporation into Intel products, development and testing of accused product features, and Intel’s manufacturing capacity. The court also identified green-boxed portions on page 71 as revealing highly confidential information about criteria Intel considers when determining prices for accused products. The court found the request narrowly tailored and granted VLSI Technology LLC’s administrative motion.