EFF Challenges Secrecy in Eastern District of Texas Patent Case
4 hours ago
- #Patent Litigation
- #Court Transparency
- #Public Access
- EFF discovered improper sealing of key court filings in a patent case in the Eastern District of Texas, hiding arguments about Wi-Fi technology, patent ownership, and FRAND licensing obligations from the public.
- The case Wilus v. HP involves standard essential patents (SEPs) for Wi-Fi 6, with disputes over FRAND terms and patent validity, but critical documents like Samsung's motion to dismiss and HP's FRAND briefing were fully sealed without proper justification.
- EFF intervened and pressured Wilus to file redacted versions of some documents, but significant portions remain concealed, highlighting that public access should be the default, not negotiated after outside pressure.
- Courts have a duty to enforce a 'compelling reasons' standard for sealing, requiring document-by-document justification, but the Eastern District of Texas often allows boilerplate protective orders, treating records as confidential by default.
- Transparency in court records is fundamental to democracy, as open courts allow public accountability, and other districts like the Northern District of California rightly reject overbroad sealing requests with specific justifications.