Telic International LLC v. Okabashi Brands Inc, 1:16-cv-00063

Telic International LLC and Novascarpa Group LLC (Telic) sued Okabashi Brands, Inc.; Telic moved for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to prevent Okabashi from selling inventory of Telic-branded footwear.
Telic initially filed several motion papers and exhibits under seal, alleging they contained pricing, marketing, inventory, and trade-secret information protected by a Mutual Confidentiality Agreement.
Okabashi filed a response under seal per the court’s earlier sealing order, then moved to unseal its response and related materials, arguing they contain no confidential information.
The court determined the preliminary injunction motion was more than tangential to the merits and therefore the “compelling reasons” standard for sealing applies.
After reviewing redacted and unredacted materials, the court concluded Telic failed to show compelling reasons to keep the challenged documents sealed because the materials are directly related to the merits and do not reveal trade secrets or proprietary information.
The court ordered the unsealing of specified briefs and exhibits, allowed Telic a short period to move for reconsideration as to particular items, and set procedures for future sealing requests.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Applicable sealing standard	Telic: good-cause applies because TRO/PI motion is nondispositive	Okabashi: compelling-reasons applies because TRO/PI goes to merits	Court: compelling-reasons applies (motion more than tangential to merits)
Whether sealed materials contain proprietary/trade-secret information	Telic: documents contain prices, pricing strategy, marketing, costs, inventory and trade secrets — thus must remain sealed	Okabashi: the materials do not contain confidential or proprietary information and should be unsealed	Court: Telic failed to meet compelling-reasons standard; materials not shown to be proprietary; ordered unsealing
Whether alleged ‘‘threat’’ to "kill" Telic's brand justifies sealing	Telic: Okabashi’s alleged motive shows intent to use filings for improper purpose, supporting sealing	Okabashi: intent to sell inventory is lawful under contract; no improper purpose shown	Court: alleged threat does not demonstrate an improper purpose sufficient to seal records
Scope of unsealing and future procedure	Telic: sought broad sealing/redactions of briefs, affidavits, exhibits	Okabashi: sought public filing of its response and unsealing of Telic’s materials	Court: ordered specific briefs and exhibits unsealed, allowed Telic limited time to seek reconsideration, and set a procedure for future sealing motions

Kamakana v. City & Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172 (9th Cir.) (articulates compelling-reasons standard for sealing judicial records)
Nixon v. Warner Commc’ns, Inc., 435 U.S. 589 (U.S. 1978) (recognizes public right of access to judicial records and limits on sealing for business information)
Center for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Group, LLC, 809 F.3d 1092 (9th Cir.) (explains when nondispositive filings require compelling-reasons scrutiny because of connection to merits)