Deeplinks
After pushing for more than three years to access court records in a lawsuit brought by a notorious patent troll, Uniloc, against Apple, EFF is challenging a federal appellate court’s decision that imperils the public’s ability to understand what happens in patent litigation.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overruled the district court’s decision to grant public access to records documenting the legal fight last month. The court ruled that the public had no interest in accessing the records, which contained information about patent licenses.
We disagree with the ruling, and believe it will close off public access to future patent disputes. That’s why EFF challenged the Federal Circuit’s decision on Friday, petitioning for re-hearing by the panel or the entire court.
Our petition argues that the Federal Circuit’s decision is contrary to law and harmful to the integrity of the judicial system. The records Uniloc is trying to seal were filed with Apple’s motion to dismiss the case—a motion that convinced the district court to do just that. In a prior appeal, the Federal Circuit confirmed that there is a strong presumption of public access to documents filed with this kind of important motion, including some of the same records at issue in this most recent appeal.
That decision was binding law that the panel in this appeal was obligated to follow. Instead, two of the three judges ignored it and found no presumption or right of public access to these records. The remaining judge wrote a vociferous dissent, emphasizing that the public’s right of access to court records such as these is “sacrosanct,” and explaining why the district court’s decision should stand.
The panel majority reached the opposite conclusion because it failed to apply the legal presumption of public access correctly. Instead of recognizing the central role these records played in the judicia
[…]
Content was cut in order to protect the source.Please visit the source for the rest of the article.
Read the original article: