Federal Judiciary

Protective Order Limiting Patent Owner's Counsel's Access to Confidential Information Granted; Prosecution Bar Included

By Michael C. Smith

Hyundai Motor America v. Clear With Computers, LLC, No. 6:08-cv-00302 (May 11, 2009)
District Judge Leonard Davis
Holding: Motion for Protect. Order GRANTED
Judge Davis granted the declaratory judgment plaintiff's motion for a protective order precluding defendant's outside counsel from viewing plaintiff's confidential information since the counsel at issue was extensively involved in the defendant business owner's business dealings.  Specifically, the counsel (David Pridham) counsels the owner (Erich Spangenberg) and his other businesses on litigation, licensing, and patent acquisition. (Now do you get it?)
The Court also held that the plaintiff was entitled to a prosecution bar precluding attorneys with access to plaintiff's confidential information from "participating, advising, or assisting in the acquisition of patent rights and asserting infringement claims related to the producing party's technical information against the producing party" for a period of two years" so as to avoid the defendant's counsel's being tempted to engage in an end run around the provisions of the protective order.

Full post as published by Eastern District of Texas Federal Court Practice on June 03, 2009 (boomark / email).