Joint Stock Company "Channel One Russia Worldwide" v. Russian TV Company Inc.
- Lorna Schofield
- 1:18-cv-02318
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Joint Stock Company v. Russian TV Company, Judge Schofield granted permission to seal listed exhibits but denied without prejudice Plaintiff’s licensing-agreement request.
The parties, non-party Kartina Digital GmbH, and their attorneys were affected. The order permitted the listed exhibits to be filed under seal, while requiring Plaintiff to take additional steps regarding its licensing agreement with Kartina.
What happened
Joint Stock Company “Channel One Russia Worldwide” v. Russian TV Company Inc. involved requests to file certain exhibits in redacted form and under seal. The requests concerned documents designated as confidential by the parties and by non-party Kartina Digital GmbH.
The court granted the parties and Kartina permission to file the exhibits listed in an appendix under seal. The court also denied without prejudice Plaintiff’s request to seal its licensing agreement with Kartina, allowing Plaintiff to renew that request.
Judge Lorna G. Schofield said the public’s right to access court documents is not absolute and that sealing was necessary to prevent unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. She ordered Plaintiff to state by March 1, 2021, whether it would renew the licensing-agreement request and to identify the agreement’s docket number.
The detailed version
- Joint Stock Company "Channel One Russia Worldwide" v. Russian TV Company Inc. · No. 1:18-cv-02318
- Lorna Schofield
- Feb. 22, 2021
Background
Defendants asked for permission to file certain exhibits connected to their summary-trial memorandum in redacted form and under seal. Defendants took no position on exhibits designated confidential by Plaintiff and non-party Kartina Digital GmbH. Plaintiff and Kartina later withdrew some confidentiality designations and consented to, or took no position on, other sealing requests.
Rulings
The court granted the parties and Kartina permission to file under seal the exhibits listed in the appendix at Docket No. 277. The court explained that the common-law right of public access to judicial documents is not absolute and that sealing the referenced documents was necessary to prevent unauthorized dissemination of confidential information related to the parties and Kartina.
The court denied without prejudice Plaintiff Joint Stock Company’s request to file its licensing agreement with Kartina, identified as CHANNELONERTV000543-568, under seal. The court directed Plaintiff to file a letter by March 1, 2021, stating whether it renewed the request and identifying the docket number under which the agreement was filed. If the agreement had not yet been filed, Plaintiff was directed to file it under seal, subject to possible unsealing after the court reviewed the docket. The court also directed Plaintiff to file other exhibits not yet on the docket in accordance with the court’s Individual Rules.
Effect of the Order
The order addressed only the handling and confidentiality of specified court filings. The court advised that it retained discretion over whether to provide confidential treatment to documents or information submitted in connection with proceedings that could result in a court order or decision.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.