Copyright Law

Judge rejects RIAA attempt to keep revenue information secret in SONY v. Tenenbaum

By Ty Rogers and Ray Beckerman

In SONY BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum, the Court granted so much of the RIAA's protective order motion as sought confidentiality of third-party licensing agreements, but denied so much of the motion as sought to keep the revenue information secret:

Judge Nancy Gertner: Electronic ORDER entered granting in part and denying in part [870] Motion for Protective Order: The Plaintiffs' Motion for a Protective Order [870] is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. The Proposed Protective Order (document # 870-2) sweeps far more broadly than the two categories of materials described in the Plaintiffs' motion: (1) the revenue figures ordered disclosed in the Court's June 30, 2009 Electronic Order; and (2) a small subset of contracts relating to the copyrights' chain of title. Indeed, the proposed order would permit either party to designate any materials disclosed in discovery in this case "Confidential" -- even retroactively. With respect to the revenue figures, the Court does not comprehend how disclosure would impair the Plaintiffs' competitive business prospects when three of the four biggest record labels in the world -- Warner Bros. Records, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, and UMG Recording, Inc. -- are participating jointly in this lawsuit and, presumably, would have joint access to this information. The Court declines to bring these materials within a protective order. It will, however, order the second set of documents, which implicate the business interests of third-party artist-owned companies, shielded from disclosure. These documents shall be marked "Confidential" by the Plaintiffs, shall be used solely for the purpose of preparation and trial of this litigation, and shall be disclosed only to the parties, counsel and their employees, actual or potential experts and consultants, and witnesses. They shall not be publicly disclosed, in whole or in part, by any means. (Gertner, Nancy)

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Full post as published by Recording Industry vs The People on July 14, 2009 (boomark / email).