Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-5_14-cv-04853/USCOURTS-cand-5_14-cv-04853-3/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 840
Nature of Suit: Trademark
Cause of Action: 15:44 Trademark Infringement

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Case No. 5:14-cv-04853-PSG 

ORDER RE: MOTIONS TO SEAL 

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United States District Court 

For the Northern District of California 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

SAN JOSE DIVISION 

NOVADAQ TECHNOLOGIES INC., 

 Plaintiff, 

v. 

KARL STORZ GMBH & CO. KG and KARL 

STORZ ENDOSCOPY-AMERICA, INC. 

 Defendants. 

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Case No. 5:14-cv-04853-PSG

ORDER RE: MOTIONS 

TO SEAL 

(Re: Docket Nos. 100, 106, 115) 

 Before the court are three administrative motions to seal 31 documents. “Historically, 

courts have recognized a ‘general right to inspect and copy public records and documents, 

including judicial records and documents.’”1

 Accordingly, when considering a sealing request, “a 

‘strong presumption in favor of access’ is the starting point.”2

 Parties seeking to seal judicial 

records relating to dispositive motions bear the burden of overcoming the presumption with 

“compelling reasons” that outweigh the general history of access and the public policies favoring 

disclosure.3

 

1 Kamakana v. City & County 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)). 

2 Id. (quoting Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 1122, 1135 (9th Cir. 2003)). 

3 Id. at 1178-79. 

Case 5:14-cv-04853-PSG Document 126 Filed 06/16/15 Page 1 of 6
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Case No. 5:14-cv-04853-PSG 

ORDER RE: MOTIONS TO SEAL 

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For the Northern District of California 

 However, “while protecting the public's interest in access to the courts, we must remain 

mindful of the parties' right to access those same courts upon terms which will not unduly harm 

their competitive interest.”4 Records attached to nondispositive motions therefore are not subject 

to the strong presumption of access.5

 Because the documents attached to nondispositive motions 

“are often unrelated, or only tangentially related, to the underlying cause of action,” parties moving 

to seal must meet the lower “good cause” standard of Rule 26(c).6

 As with dispositive motions, the 

standard applicable to nondispositive motions requires a “particularized showing”7 that “specific 

prejudice or harm will result” if the information is disclosed.8

 “Broad allegations of harm, 

unsubstantiated by specific examples of articulated reasoning” will not suffice.9

 A protective order 

sealing the documents during discovery may reflect the court’s previous determination that good 

cause exists to keep the documents sealed,10 but a blanket protective order that allows the parties to 

designate confidential documents does not provide sufficient judicial scrutiny to determine whether 

each particular document should remain sealed.11

In addition to making particularized showings of good cause, parties moving to seal 

documents must comply with the procedures established by Civ. L.R. 79-5. Pursuant to 

 

4 Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., 727 F.3d 1214, 1228-29 (Fed. Cir. 2013). 

5 See id. at 1180. 

6 Id. at 1179 (internal quotations and citations omitted). 

7 Id.

8 Phillips ex rel. Estates of Byrd v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002); 

see Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c). 

9 Beckman Indus., Inc. v. Int’l Ins. Co., 966 F.2d 470, 476 (9th Cir. 1992). 

10 See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179-80. 

11 See 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.”). 

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Case No. 5:14-cv-04853-PSG 

ORDER RE: MOTIONS TO SEAL 

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Civ. L.R. 79-5(b), a sealing order is appropriate only upon a request that establishes the document 

is “sealable,” or “privileged or protectable as a trade secret or otherwise entitled to protection under 

the law.” “The request must be narrowly tailored to seek sealing only of sealable material, and 

must conform with Civil L.R. 79-5(d).”12 “Within 4 days of the filing of the Administrative 

Motion to File Under Seal, the Designating Party must file a declaration as required by subsection 

79-5(d)(1)(A) establishing that all of the designated material is sealable.”13

With these standards in mind, the court rules on the instant motions as follows: 

Motion to 

Seal 

Document to be Sealed Result Reason/Explanation 

Docket No. 

100-3 

Novadaq’s Opposition to 

Defendant’s Motion for 

Protective Order Regarding 

Dr. Storz 

4:10-15 and 14:16-

19SEALED. All other 

highlighted designations 

UNSEALED. 

Only sealed portions 

narrowly tailored to 

confidential business 

or trade secret 

information. 

Docket No. 

100-5 

Exhibit 1 to the Foran 

Declaration 

UNSEALED. Not narrowly tailored 

to confidential 

business or trade 

secret information. 

Docket No. 

100-6 

Exhibit 2 to the Foran 

Declaration 

UNSEALED. Not narrowly tailored 

to confidential 

business or trade 

secret information. 

Docket No. 

100-7 

Exhibit 3 to the Foran 

Declaration 

UNSEALED. Not narrowly tailored 

to confidential 

business or trade 

secret information. 

Docket No. 

100-8 

Exhibit 4 to the Foran 

Declaration 

UNSEALED. Not narrowly tailored 

to confidential 

business or trade 

secret information. 

 

12 Civ. L.R. 79-5(b). In part, Civ. L.R. 79-5(d) requires the submitting party to attach a “proposed 

order that is narrowly tailored to seal only the sealable material” which “lists in table format each 

document or portion thereof that is sought to be sealed,” Civ. L.R. 79-5(d)(1)(b), and an 

“unredacted version of the document” that indicates “by highlighting or other clear method, the 

portions of the document that have been omitted from the redacted version.” 

Civ. L.R. 79-5(d)(1)(d). 

13 Civ. L.R. 79-5(e)(1). 

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Case No. 5:14-cv-04853-PSG 

ORDER RE: MOTIONS TO SEAL 

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Docket No. 

100-9 

Exhibit 5 to the Foran 

Declaration 

SEALED. Narrowly tailored to 

confidential business 

or trade secret 

information. 

Docket No. 

100-10 

Exhibit 6 to the Foran 

Declaration 

UNSEALED. Not narrowly tailored 

to confidential 

business or trade 

secret information. 

Docket No. 

100-11 

Exhibit 7 to the Foran 

Declaration 

UNSEALED. Not narrowly tailored 

to confidential 

business or trade 

secret information. 

Docket No. 

100-12 

Exhibit 8 to the Foran 

Declaration 

UNSEALED. Not narrowly tailored 

to confidential 

business or trade 

secret information. 

Docket No. 

100-13 

Exhibit 9 to the Foran 

Declaration 

UNSEALED. Not narrowly tailored 

to confidential 

business or trade 

secret information. 

Docket No. 

100-14 

Exhibit 10 to the Foran 

Declaration 

UNSEALED. Not narrowly tailored 

to confidential 

business or trade 

secret information. 

Docket No. 

100-15 

Exhibit 11 to the Foran 

Declaration 

UNSEALED. Not narrowly tailored 

to confidential 

business or trade 

secret information. 

Docket No. 

100-16 

Exhibit 12 to the Foran 

Declaration 

UNSEALED. Not narrowly tailored 

to confidential 

business or trade 

secret information. 

Docket No. 

100-17 

Exhibit 13 to the Foran 

Declaration 

UNSEALED. Not narrowly tailored 

to confidential 

business or trade 

secret information. 

Docket No. 

100-18 

Exhibit 17 to the Foran 

Declaration 

UNSEALED. No declaration in 

support filed with the 

court as required by 

Civ. L.R. 79-5(e)(1).

Docket No. 

100-19 

Exhibit 18 to the Foran 

Declaration 

UNSEALED. No declaration in 

support filed with the 

court as required by 

Civ. L.R. 79-5(e)(1).

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Case No. 5:14-cv-04853-PSG 

ORDER RE: MOTIONS TO SEAL 

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Docket No. 

100-20 

Exhibit 19 to the Foran 

Declaration 

UNSEALED. No declaration in 

support filed with the 

court as required by 

Civ. L.R. 79-5(e)(1).

Docket No. 

100-21 

Exhibit 20 to the Foran 

Declaration 

UNSEALED. Not narrowly tailored 

to confidential 

business or trade 

secret information. 

Docket No. 

100-22 

Exhibit 21 to the Foran 

Declaration 

UNSEALED. Not narrowly tailored 

to confidential 

business or trade 

secret information. 

Docket No. 

100-23 

Exhibit 22 to the Foran 

Declaration 

UNSEALED. Not narrowly tailored 

to confidential 

business or trade 

secret information. 

Docket No. 

100-24 

Exhibit 23 to the Foran 

Declaration 

UNSEALED. Not narrowly tailored 

to confidential 

business or trade 

secret information. 

Docket No. 

100-25 

Exhibit 24 to the Foran 

Declaration 

UNSEALED. Not narrowly tailored 

to confidential 

business or trade 

secret information. 

Docket No. 

100-26 

Exhibit 25 to the Foran 

Declaration 

SEALED. Narrowly tailored to 

confidential business 

or trade secret 

information. 

Docket No. 

100-27 

Exhibit 26 to the Foran 

Declaration 

UNSEALED. Not narrowly tailored 

to confidential 

business or trade 

secret information. 

Docket No. 

100-29 

Exhibit 28 to the Foran 

Declaration 

UNSEALED. Not narrowly tailored 

to confidential 

business or trade 

secret information. 

Docket No. 

100-30 

Exhibit 29 to the Foran 

Declaration 

Doc. 1, Doc. 2., Doc. 3. and 

Doc. 4 SEALED. All other 

portions UNSEALED. 

Only sealed portions 

narrowly tailored to 

confidential business 

or trade secret 

information. 

Docket No. 

106-5 

Novadaq’s Opposition to 

Karl Storz’s Motion for 

Leave To File Its Amended 

UNSEALED. No declaration in 

support filed with the 

court as required by

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Case No. 5:14-cv-04853-PSG 

ORDER RE: MOTIONS TO SEAL 

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Answer and Counterclaims Civ. L.R. 79-5(e)(1).

Docket No. 

106-7 

Exhibit 4 to the Foran 

Declaration UNSEALED. No declaration in 

support filed with the 

court as required by 

Civ. L.R. 79-5(e)(1). 

Docket No. 

106-8 

Exhibit 6 to the Foran 

Declaration UNSEALED. No declaration in 

support filed with the 

court as required by 

Civ. L.R. 79-5(e)(1). 

Docket No. 

115-2 

Karl Storz’s Reply in 

Support of Motion for 

Leave to File its Amended 

Answer and Counterclaims 

Designations highlighted in 

yellow SEALED. 

Narrowly tailored to 

confidential business 

information. 

Docket No. 

115-3 

Exhibit B to the Welsh 

Declaration 

SEALED. Narrowly tailored to 

confidential business 

information. 

Within seven days, the designating party may file a more narrowly tailored motion to file 

under seal. Pursuant to Civ. L.R. 79-5, a proposed order must contain a chart specifically showing 

what the party seeks to seal. An unredacted version must contain highlighting showing the court 

what the designating party seeks to seal within that document. 

SO ORDERED.

Dated: June 16, 2015 

 _________________________________ 

PAUL S. GREWAL 

United States Magistrate Judge 

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