Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-4_14-cv-01853/USCOURTS-cand-4_14-cv-01853-11/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 830
Nature of Suit: Patent
Cause of Action: 15:1126 Patent Infringement

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United States District Court

Northern District of California

E-filed 11/1/2016

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

CYWEE GROUP LTD,

Plaintiff,

v.

APPLE INC.,

Defendant.

Case No.14-cv-01853-HSG (HRL)

ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND

DENYING IN PART PLAINTIFF’S 

ADMINISTRATIVE MOTION TO FILE 

UNDER SEAL

Re: Dkt. No. 104

Pending before this Court is the Administrative Motion by Plaintiff CyWee Group, Ltd. 

(“CyWee”) to file under seal certain exhibits to the declarations of Ari Rafilson, Zhou Ye, and 

Shun-Nan Liu. Dkt. No. 104. These declarations were filed in support of CyWee’s Motion for 

Administrative Relief to modify the briefing schedule and augment the papers related to its 

Motion to Amend/Correct Infringement Contentions. Dkt. Nos. 98, 103. Having considered the 

motion, the Court grants it with respect to some of the documents requested to be filed under seal 

and denies it in part with respect to others, as detailed below.

The courts recognize a common-law right of access to public records, and a strong 

presumption in favor of public access exists. Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 

1122, 1134-35 (9th Cir. 2003). This right of access, however, is not absolute, and can be 

overridden. Id. at 1135. The party seeking to seal judicial records bears the burden of overcoming 

the presumption in favor of access. Kamakana v. City and Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 

1178-79 (9th Cir. 2006).

The court applies one of two standards in evaluating motions to seal: the lower good cause 

standard, which applies to non-dispositive matters, and the more stringent compelling reasons 

standard, which applies to dispositive matters. See Luo v. Zynga, Inc., No. 13-cv-00186 NC, 2013 

WL 5814763, at *1-2 (N.D. Cal., Oct. 29, 2013). Under the good cause standard, the party must 

make a “particularized showing” that “specific prejudice or harm will result” if the document is 

Case 4:14-cv-01853-HSG Document 109 Filed 11/01/16 Page 1 of 3
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United States District Court

Northern District of California

not filed under seal. Id. at *1 (quoting San Jose Mercury News, Inc. v. U.S. Dist. Court. N. Dist. 

(San Jose), 187 F.3d 1096, 1103 (9th Cir. 1999)). Under the compelling reasons standard, the 

party seeking disclosure must “‘articulate[] compelling reasons supported by specific factual 

findings’ . . . that outweigh the general history of access and the public policies favoring 

disclosure . . . .” Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1178-79 (quoting Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. 

Co., 331 F.3d 1122, 1135 (9th Cir. 2003) (citations omitted).

A motion to amend infringement contentions is a non-dispositive motion, and so the less 

stringent good cause standard applies to this motion to seal. See Finjan Inc. v. Proofpoint, Inc., 

No. 13-cv-05808, 2015 WL 9023164, at *2 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 16, 2015); Angioscore, Inc. v. 

TriReme Medical, Inc., No. 12-cv-03393-YGR, 2015 WL 75187, at *2 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 6, 2015); 

Mediatek Inc. v. Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., No. 11-cv-5341 YGR, 2013 WL 10996547, at *1 

(N.D. Cal. May 10, 2013).

The court has reviewed CyWee’s sealing motion and declaration in support thereof. The 

court finds that CyWee has established good cause to seal the following documents:

1. Rafilson Declaration, Exhibit B

2. Rafilson Declaration, Exhibit C

3. Rafilson Declaration, Exhibit D

4. Liu Declaration, Exhibit B

5. Liu Declaration, Exhibit C

6. Liu Declaration, Exhibit E

7. Liu Declaration, Exhibit F

8. Ye Declaration, Exhibit B

9. Ye Declaration, Exhibit C

10. Ye Declaration, Exhibit E

11. Ye Declaration, Exhibit F

12. Ye Declaration, Exhibit H

13. Ye Declaration, Exhibit I

14. Ye Declaration, Exhibit J

Case 4:14-cv-01853-HSG Document 109 Filed 11/01/16 Page 2 of 3
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United States District Court

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CyWee has not, however, established good cause to seal the entirety of each of the

following documents, for the reasons explained below:

1. Liu Declaration, Exhibit A

2. Liu Declaration, Exhibit D

3. Liu Declaration, Exhibit G

4. Ye Declaration, Exhibit A

5. Ye Declaration, Exhibit D

6. Ye Declaration, Exhibit G

The court recognizes that some of the material contained in these latter six exhibits is

suitable for filing under seal. However, much of the content of these documents is not obviously 

confidential. For example, Exhibit A to the Liu Declaration is a slide presentation, portions of 

which present publicly available information. And a portion of Exhibit D to the Liu Declaration is 

included in the Liu Declaration itself, which is not filed under seal. 

The Civil Local Rules require that requests to file under seal be “narrowly tailored to seek 

sealing only of sealable material . . . .” Civil L. R. 79-5(b). Additionally, the good cause standard 

requires a “particularized showing” that “specific prejudice or harm will result” if the 

documents—or portions of them—are not filed under seal. CyWee has not satisfied the narrow 

tailoring requirement, and it has not shown good cause for sealing the entirety of the six identified 

documents.

Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 79-5(f)(3), CyWee shall have seven days from the date of this 

order either to file revised redacted versions of the six documents identified above or to file the

whole of these six documents on the public docket. CyWee’s motion to file under seal is granted 

with respect to the other 14 documents. 

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: 11/1/2016

HOWARD R. LLOYD

United States Magistrate Judge

Case 4:14-cv-01853-HSG Document 109 Filed 11/01/16 Page 3 of 3