Entropic Communications v. Charter Communications

Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Date Filed: Aug. 9, 2024

Background: In March 2024, the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a motion to intervene and unseal court records related to a recently closed patent lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. 

The case concerned a dispute between Entropic Communications, a semiconductor company, and Charter Communications, a large media company that provides cable and internet services. During the course of the litigation, both companies filed briefs under seal without filing a motion to seal or providing justification. The case was closed in December 2023. 

The district court denied EFF’s request to unseal the filings, finding that the motion was untimely. EFF appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Our Position: The Federal Circuit should reverse the district court’s decision and unseal the filings. 

• Journalists routinely rely on judicial records to inform the public about matters of urgent public concern, including in closed cases.

• Where the public’s right of access to judicial records is at stake, intervention to unseal judicial records is virtually always timely.

From the Brief: “On the District Court’s rationale, parties can instead purchase permanent secrecy by settling an action before the news media has a chance to intervene. If upheld, that ruling would impose an intolerable obstacle in the way of vital investigative reporting — and with it the public’s right to know.”