Fed. Circ. Asks Judge To Explain Reasoning Behind Unsealing
By Tiffany Hu
Law360 (October 20, 2020, 10:08 PM EDT) -- The Federal Circuit on Tuesday told U.S. District Judge William Alsup to explain why filings containing cybersecurity firm Finjan Inc.'s patent licensing information should be unsealed, saying the judge "did not perform the required analysis" in his initial order.
In a nonprecedential order, a three-judge panel ruled that Judge Alsup failed to make "particularized" findings before issuing an order to unseal Daubert motions that included confidential information relating to Finjan's licensing negotiations with other companies.
The panel said Judge Alsup should have followed Ninth Circuit precedent, which required him to weigh the competing interests: Finjan's interest in keeping the records private, as well as the public's interest in knowing the information, it said.
"The district court did not perform the required analysis," U.S. Chief Circuit Judge Sharon Prost wrote for the panel. "That analysis is not for us to undertake in the first instance. Therefore, we vacate the unsealing order and remand for the district court."
The sealing fight is part of a patent lawsuit Finjan filed in 2017 against Juniper Networks. During discovery, Finjan handed over certain communications containing terms of Finjan's patent licenses with other companies, which were supposed to remain confidential, Finjan said.
In December 2018, Judge Alsup entered an order on Finjan's Daubert motions that included proposed fees and terms in the company's licensing discussions and temporarily sealed the order for two weeks. Finjan then requested to hold off on unsealing the order while it appealed the case, and the judge agreed to do so.
In the same month, a California federal jury found that Juniper didn't infringe Finjan's malware detection patent, and the verdict was later backed by Judge Alsup.
The parties' tit-for-tat following the patent trial had notably led Judge Alsup to lambast the "obstinate" attorneys and decry "all the BS that goes on" in patent litigation, with the judge refusing to grant Finjan's bid for a new trial last May.
U.S. Chief Judge Sharon Prost and U.S. Circuit Judges Evan J. Wallach and Kara F. Stoll sat on the panel for the Federal Circuit.
Counsel for the parties did not immediately return requests for comment Tuesday.
Finjan is represented by Juanita Rose Brooks, Francis J. Albert, Oliver Richards and Robert Courtney of Fish & Richard PC and Lisa Kobialka and Hannah Yunkyung Lee of Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP.
Juniper is represented by Jonathan S. Kagan of Irell & Manella LLP.
The case is Finjan Inc. v. Juniper Networks Inc., case number 19-1837, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
--Additional reporting by Mike LaSusa and Hannah Albarazi. Editing by Haylee Pearl
