Case 1:19-cv-01410-MN Document 263 Filed 10/30/23 Page 1 of 5 PageID #: 10726
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`VB ASSETS, LLC,
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`IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE
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`Plaintiff,
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`v.
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`AMAZON.COM SERVICES LLC,
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`Defendant.
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`C.A. No. 1:19-cv-01410-MN
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`DEFENDANT’S BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF ITS MOTION TO SEAL DEFENDANT’S
`OPPOSITION TO VB ASSETS’ MOTION TO AMEND TRIAL EXHIBIT LIST TO ADD
`DOCUMENTS DESCRIBING NEW, UNRELEASED FEATURES AND TECHNOLOGY
`ON THE EVE OF TRIAL AND DECLARATION OF MELANIE GENS
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`ASHBY & GEDDES
`Steven J. Balick (#2114)
`sbalick@ashbygeddes.com
`Andrew C. Mayo (#5207)
`amayo@ashbygeddes.com
`500 Delaware Avenue, 8th Floor
`P.O. Box 1150
`Wilmington, DE 19899
`(302) 654-1888
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`Counsel for Defendants
`Amazon.com Services LLC
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`Of counsel:
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`J. David Hadden, CSB No. 176148
`dhadden@fenwick.com
`Saina S. Shamilov, CSB No. 215636
`sshamilov@fenwick.com
`Ravi R. Ranganath, CSB No. 272981
`rranganath@fenwick.com
`Vigen Salmastlian, CSB No. 276846
`vsalmastlian@fenwick.com
`Allen Wang, CBS No. 278953
`awang@fenwick.com
`Johnson Kuncheria, CSB No. 335765
`jkuncheria@fenwick.com
`Min Wu, CSB No. 307512
`min.wu@fenwick.com
`Jeffrey A. Ware, CSB No. 271603
`jware@fenwick.com
`Rebecca A.E. Fewkes, CSB No. 209168
`rfewkes@fenwick.com
`FENWICK & WEST LLP
`801 California Street
`Mountain View, CA 94041
`(650) 988-8500
`
`Dated: October 30, 2023
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`Case 1:19-cv-01410-MN Document 263 Filed 10/30/23 Page 2 of 5 PageID #: 10727
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`I.
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`INTRODUCTION
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`The Court should grant Defendant’s motion to seal with respect to the highly confidential
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`information of Defendant’s Opposition to VB Assets’ Motion to Amend Trial Exhibit List to Add
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`Documents Describing New Unreleased Features and Technology on the Eve of Trial
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`(“Defendant’s Opposition”) and Declaration of Melanie Gens (“Gens Declaration”). Defendant’s
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`highly confidential information disclosed in four sentences of the Gens Declaration—in the second
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`and third sentences of paragraph 3 and the second and third sentences in paragraph 4—and
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`repeated in excerpts of pages 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 of Defendant’s Opposition Brief must be maintained
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`under seal to prevent serious and real harm to Defendant. Release of Defendant’s highly
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`confidential information to the public and Defendant’s competitors would create clearly defined
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`and serious injury to Defendant: an unfair advantage to business competitors as they would gain
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`access to non-public information about the operation and development of the next generation of
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`Alexa and violation of Amazon’s privacy interests. Defendant respectfully requests that the Court
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`maintain these specific portions of Defendant’s Opposition and the Gens Declaration under seal
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`and permit Amazon to publicly file these documents on the Court’s public filing system with those
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`portions redacted.
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`II.
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`LEGAL STANDARD
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`Third Circuit common law presumes a public right of access to judicial records, but it also
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`protects business and financial information when access would cause economic harm, including
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`competitive harm. In re Avandia Mktg., Sales Pracs. & Prod. Liab. Litig., 924 F.3d 662, 672 (3d
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`Cir. 2019). Courts have recognized that “the common law right to public access . . . is not
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`absolute.” In re Cendant Corp., 260 F.3d 183, 194 (3d Cir. 2001) (citations and quotations
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`Case 1:19-cv-01410-MN Document 263 Filed 10/30/23 Page 3 of 5 PageID #: 10728
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`omitted); see also Littlejohn v. Bic Corp., 851 F.2d 673, 678 (3d Cir. 1988) (courts may deny
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`access to “sources of business information that might harm a litigant’s competitive standing”).
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`The presumption towards public access to judicial records is overcome where a movant
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`shows “that the interest in secrecy outweighs the presumption.” In re Avandia Mktg., 924 F.3d at
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`672 (quoting Bank of Am. Nat’l Tr. & Sav. Ass’n v. Hotel Rittenhouse Assocs., 800 F.2d 339, 344
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`(3d Cir. 1986)). This showing may be made by demonstrating that disclosure will work a clearly
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`defined and serious injury to the “movant and that the material is the kind of information that
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`courts will protect. Id. at 672 (citing Miller v. Ind. Hosp., 16 F.3d 549, 551 (3d Cir. 1994)). Courts
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`apply a “good cause” standard justifying sealing or redacting judicial records. Id. at 671-72. In
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`“determining whether good cause exists,” courts consider “various factors,” including: “whether
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`disclosure will violate any privacy interests” and “whether the sharing of information among
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`litigants will promote fairness and efficiency.” Id. at 671.
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`III. ARGUMENT
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`Good cause exists to seal the Gens Declaration and Defendant’s Opposition characterizing
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`the declaration because public access to the sensitive information “will violate [Amazon’s] privacy
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`interest” and will provide Amazon’s competitors with an unfair business advantage. See In re
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`Avandia Mktg., 924 F.3d at 671. The sensitive information here concerns Alexa’s new system that
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`will be used for certain Alexa services. (Gens Decl. at ¶¶ 3.) This confidential information is
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`disclosed in four sentences of the Gens Declaration, each described below.
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`Date when Amazon began developing the new system. The Gens Declaration discloses
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`non-public information about Amazon’s development of its new system, including when Amazon
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`first began developing it. (Gens Decl. at ¶ 3.)
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`Status of public release of the new system. The Gens Declaration identifies the status of
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`Amazon’s public release of the new system. (Gens Decl. at ¶ 3.)
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`Case 1:19-cv-01410-MN Document 263 Filed 10/30/23 Page 4 of 5 PageID #: 10729
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`Amazon’s intended uses for the new Alexa system. The Gens Declaration also discloses
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`Amazon’s non-public intended uses for the new system for certain Alexa services. (Gens Decl. at
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`¶ 4.)
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`Technical details of the new system as compared to the present system. Finally, the
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`Gens Declaration contrasts the technology and implementation of the new system with the present
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`system. (Gens Decl. at ¶ 4.)
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`This confidential information describes fundamental operation of the next generation of
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`Amazon’s cutting-edge and ubiquitous “Alexa” service. (Declaration of Melanie Gens dated
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`October 30, 2023 at ¶¶ 2-3.) Each provides a view of Amazon’s private development of its next-
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`generation system, including when Amazon began its development. (Id. at ¶ 3.) Disclosure of
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`these details through public access of the Gens Declaration or the Opposition would harm Amazon
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`and violate its interest in keeping the information private. (Id.) Worse yet, public disclosure of
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`these valuable details would provide an unfair advantage to business competitors as they would
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`gain access to non-public information about the operation and development of the next generation
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`of Alexa. (Id.)
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`IV. CONCLUSION
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`The Court should grant Defendant’s motion to seal its Opposition and the Gens Declaration
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`and permit it to file redacted, unsealed versions of both documents.
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`Case 1:19-cv-01410-MN Document 263 Filed 10/30/23 Page 5 of 5 PageID #: 10730
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`Respectfully submitted,
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`/s/ Andrew C. Mayo
`Steven J. Balick (#2114)
`sbalick@ashbygeddes.com
`Andrew C. Mayo (#5207)
`amayo@ashbygeddes.com
`ASHBY & GEDDES
`500 Delaware Avenue, 8th Floor
`P.O. Box 1150
`Wilmington, DE 19899
`(302) 654-1888
`
`Counsel for Defendants
`Amazon.com Services LLC
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`
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`Dated: October 30, 2023
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`
`
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`Of counsel:
`
`J. David Hadden, CSB No. 176148
`dhadden@fenwick.com
`Saina S. Shamilov, CSB No. 215636
`sshamilov@fenwick.com
`Ravi R. Ranganath, CSB No. 272981
`rranganath@fenwick.com
`Vigen Salmastlian, CSB No. 276846
`vsalmastlian@fenwick.com
`Allen Wang, CBS No. 278953
`awang@fenwick.com
`Johnson Kuncheria, CSB No. 335765
`jkuncheria@fenwick.com
`Min Wu, CSB No. 307512
`min.wu@fenwick.com
`Jeffrey A. Ware, CSB No. 271603
`jware@fenwick.com
`Rebecca A.E. Fewkes, CSB No. 209168
`rfewkes@fenwick.com
`FENWICK & WEST LLP
`801 California Street
`Mountain View, CA 94041
`(650) 988-8500
`
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