Federal Judge Seals Courtroom To Protect Business Trade Secrets April 28, 2009

Although there is generally a strong presumption favoring the public’s open access to the courts, in a highly unusual move, a California Federal Judge banned all third parties from her courtroom that were present to observe the commercial litigation involving the Motion Picture Association of America out of her concern that these observers (including reporters), who had not specifically agreed to maintain the confidentiality of the anti-pirating algorithms embedded onto DVDs that is at the center of the case, could easily disclose this proprietary and trade secret information, thereby causing irreparable harm to the plaintiff MPAA.  The Judge’s ruling in this particular case is also puzzling in that she effectively put the onus of opening the hearings to the public upon the news agencies, rather than requiring that the plaintiff proactively seek court leave to have the hearings sealed.

Given the widespread implications about DVD pirating, I am fairly confident that the news agencies will seek the Court’s permission to intervene and continue their observation of the trial.

Jonathan Cooper is a New York Business Litigation and New York Commercial Litigation Lawyer with a focus on New York breach of contract and New York business fraud claims before the Nassau, Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx, Westchester and Suffolk County courts of New York State. For more information, feel free to contact his Long Island office at 516-791-5700.

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