Opinion
Case No. 16-cv-01266-EJD
07-27-2017
PERSONALWEB TECHNOLOGIES LLC, et al., Plaintiffs, v. INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION, Defendant.
OMNIBUS ORDER RE: ADMINISTRATIVE MOTIONS TO SEAL
Re: Dkt. Nos. 273, 286, 287, 289, 309, 316, 319, 322, 324, 325, 334
Before the Court are administrative motions to seal filed by the parties in connection with their motions in limine and other pretrial orders. For the reasons set forth below, the motions are GRANTED.
I. LEGAL STANDARD
"Historically, courts have recognized a 'general right to inspect and copy public records and documents, including judicial records and documents.'" Kamakana v. City and Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2006) (quoting Nixon v. Warner Commc'ns, Inc., 435 U.S. 589, 597 & n.7 (1978)). Consequently, access to motions and their attachments that are "more than tangentially related to the merits of a case" may be sealed only upon a showing of "compelling reasons" for sealing. Ctr. for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp., LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1101-02 (9th Cir. 2016). Filings that are only tangentially related to the merits may be sealed upon a lesser showing of "good cause." Id. at 1097. In addition, sealing motions filed in this district must be "narrowly tailored to seek sealing only of sealable material." Civil L.R. 79-5(b). A party moving to seal a document in whole or in part must file a declaration establishing that the identified material is "sealable." Civ. L.R. 79-5(d)(1)(A). "Reference to a stipulation or protective order that allows a party to designate certain documents as confidential is not sufficient to establish that a document, or portions thereof, are sealable." Id.
II. DISCUSSION
The Court has reviewed each of the parties' sealing motions and the declarations submitted in support thereof. The Court finds that the parties have articulated compelling reasons and good cause to seal the submitted documents. The proposed redactions are also narrowly tailored. The Court's rulings on the sealing requests are set forth in the tables below:
A. Dkt. No. 273
| Materials to be Sealed | Order |
|---|---|
| PersonalWeb's Daubert Motion, pp. 2-8, 10, 13-14, as indicated in theredacted copy filed with the motion to seal — showing informationrelating to IBM's revenues, and the extent to which the accused client-side deduplication functionality is used by IBM customers. | GRANTED. |
| Exhibit A to the Daubert Motion — showing information relating toIBM's revenue and sales. | GRANTED. |
| Exhibit B to the Daubert Motion — showing the manner in which IBM'sexpert calculated his damages figure based on IBM's revenues. | GRANTED. |
| Exhibit C to the Daubert Motion — showing the extent to which "client-side deduplication" is used by IBM's TSM customers. | GRANTED. |
| Exhibit D to the Daubert Motion — showing the extent to which "client-side deduplication" is used by IBM's TSM customers. | GRANTED. |
B. Dkt. No. 286
| Materials to be Sealed | Order |
|---|---|
| Motion to Exclude the Opinions of Dr. Michael Akemann, page 1, lines22-26, page 2, lines 3-14, page 3, lines 12, 26 and 28, page 4, lines 5-8,10-21 and 24, page 5, lines 1-3, 6, 14, 15, 21, page 5, line 13, page 7, line4 - contains confidential business information of IBM, PersonalWeb, andthird parties | GRANTED. |
| Exhibit 1 - contains confidential business information of IBM,PersonalWeb, and third parties | GRANTED. |
| Exhibit 3 - contains confidential business information of PersonalWeb | GRANTED. |
| Exhibit 4 - contains confidential business information of PersonalWeb | GRANTED. |
C. Dkt. No. 287
| Materials to be Sealed | Order |
|---|---|
| Exhibit 3 to IBM's Motion in Limine No. 2 to Exclude from TrialOpinions Not Disclosed in Expert Reports, 9:5, 22:10-12, 22:25,23:11, 23:18, 23:21, 24: 6, 24:24, 26:24, 27:1, 28:10 - contains IBMand PersonalWeb confidential business information | GRANTED. |
| Exhibit 4 to IBM's Motion in Limine No. 2 to Exclude from TrialOpinions Not Disclosed in Expert Reports, page 13, lines 6 & 8, page15, lines 23-29 - contains IBM, PersonalWeb, and third partyconfidential business information | GRANTED. |
|---|---|
| Exhibit 5 to IBM's Motion in Limine No. 2 to Exclude from TrialOpinions Not Disclosed in Expert Reports, page 9, lines 15-16, page10, lines 3-6 and 16-21 - contains IBM confidential businessinformation | GRANTED. |
| Exhibit 5 to IBM's Motion in Limine No. 4 to Exclude TestimonyConflicting with Court's Claim Constructions and Arguing ClaimConstruction to the Jury - contains IBM confidential businessinformation | GRANTED. |
| Exhibit 6 to IBM's Motion in Limine No. 4 to Exclude TestimonyConflicting with Court's Claim Constructions and Arguing ClaimConstruction to the Jury - contains IBM confidential businessinformation | GRANTED. |
| IBM's Motion in Limine No. 5 to Exclude From Trial USPTOActivities and Unsupported or Improper Validity Arguments -contains confidential information of PersonalWeb | GRANTED. |
| Exhibit 8 to IBM's Motion in Limine No. 5 to Exclude From TrialUSPTO Activities and Unsupported or Improper Validity Arguments- contains confidential information of PersonalWeb | GRANTED. |
| Exhibit 9 to IBM's Motion in Limine No. 5 to Exclude From TrialUSPTO Activities and Unsupported or Improper Validity Arguments- contains confidential information of PersonalWeb | GRANTED. |
| Exhibit 10 to IBM's Motion in Limine No. 5 to Exclude From TrialUSPTO Activities and Unsupported or Improper Validity Arguments- contains confidential information of PersonalWeb | GRANTED. |
| Exhibit 11 to IBM's Motion in Limine No. 5 to Exclude From TrialUSPTO Activities and Unsupported or Improper Validity Arguments- contains confidential information of PersonalWeb | GRANTED. |
| Exhibit 12 to IBM's Motion in Limine No. 5 to Exclude From TrialUSPTO Activities and Unsupported or Improper Validity Arguments- contains confidential information of PersonalWeb | GRANTED. |
| Exhibit 13 to IBM's Motion in Limine No. 5 to Exclude From TrialUSPTO Activities and Unsupported or Improper Validity Arguments- contains confidential information of PersonalWeb | GRANTED. |
| Exhibit 1 to IBM's Motion in Limine No. 7 to Exclude From Trial Useof IBM's '257 Patent for Infringement Purposes - contains IBMconfidential business information | GRANTED. |
| Exhibit 2 to IBM's Motion in Limine No. 7 to Exclude From Trial Useof IBM's '257 Patent for Infringement Purposes - contains IBMconfidential business information | GRANTED. |
D. Dkt. No. 289
| Materials to be Sealed | Order |
|---|---|
| Exhibit 1, image on p. 54, image on p. 56 - contains confidential businessinformation of IBM | GRANTED. |
E. Dkt. No. 309
| Materials to be Sealed | Order |
|---|---|
| Exhibit 2 to the Christoff Declaration — showing information relating toIBM's confidential source code | GRANTED. |
| Exhibit 3 to the Christoff Declaration — showing information relating toIBM's confidential source code | GRANTED. |
| Exhibit 8 to the Christoff Declaration — showing information relating toIBM's TSM sales and revenues | GRANTED. |
| Exhibit 9 to the Christoff Declaration — showing information relating toIBM's TSM sales and revenues | GRANTED. |
F. Dkt. No. 316
| Materials to be Sealed | Order |
|---|---|
| PersonalWeb's Opposition, pp. 1-5, 7, and 11, contains confidentialbusiness information of IBM, PersonalWeb, and third parties | GRANTED. |
G. Dkt. No. 319
| Materials to be Sealed | Order |
|---|---|
| Opposition to Daubert Motion to Exclude Portions of the Rebuttal ExpertReport and Proposed Testimony of Dr. James R. Kearl, page 3, line 7;page 4 lines 14-17,19, 24-25; page 5, line 1; page 6, lines 6-7, 12-14;page 7, line 13; page 8, lines 2-3; page 12, line 20; page 13, lines 1-3;page 15, line 1 - contains confidential business information, confidentialfinancial information related to IBM and third parties, and confidentialsettlement and license terms relating to third parties. | GRANTED. |
| Exhibit 1 - contains confidential business information, confidentialfinancial information related to IBM and third parties, and confidentialsettlement and license terms relating to third parties. | GRANTED. |
| Exhibit 2 - contains confidential business information, confidentialfinancial information related to IBM and third parties, and confidentialsettlement and license terms relating to third parties. | GRANTED. |
| Exhibit 4 - contains confidential business information, confidentialfinancial information related to IBM and third parties, and confidentialsettlement and license terms relating to third parties. | GRANTED. |
| Exhibit 6 - contains confidential business information, confidentialfinancial information related to IBM and third parties, and confidentialsettlement and license terms relating to third parties. | GRANTED. |
H. Dkt. No. 322
| Materials to be Sealed | Order |
|---|---|
| Reply in Support of Motion to Exclude the Opinions of Dr. MichaelAkemann, page 1, line 10, page 2, line 2, page 3, lines 1 and 9 -contains confidential business information of IBM, PersonalWeb, andthird parties. | GRANTED. |
I. Dkt. No. 324
| Materials to be Sealed | Order |
|---|
| PersonalWeb's reply, p. 5, as indicated in the redacted copy filed with themotion to seal — showing the extent to which the accused client-sidededuplication functionality is used by IBM customers. | GRANTED. |
J. Dkt. No. 325
| Materials to be Sealed | Order |
|---|---|
| Exhibit 2 - contains confidential business information of IBM | GRANTED. |
K. Dkt. No. 334
| Materials to be Sealed | Order |
|---|---|
| IBM's Opposition to PersonalWeb's Motion to Strike Jacob Drew fromIBM's Witness List, page 3 lines 6-11 - contains confidential businessinformation of PersonalWeb | GRANTED. |
| Exhibit 2 - contains confidential business information of PersonalWeb | GRANTED. |
III. ORDER
For the foregoing reasons, the sealing motions at Dkt. Nos. 273, 286, 287, 289, 309, 316, 319, 322, 324, 325, and 334 are GRANTED.
IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: July 27, 2017
/s/_________
EDWARD J. DAVILA
United States District Judge