• by Ray Schultz , August 29, 2024

A coalition of publishers and other stakeholders has filed an amicus brief in support of the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s motion to unseal records in a patent lawsuit.  

That case concerns a dispute between Entropic Communications and Charter Communications. It was closed last year.  

The brief asks the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to reverse the decision of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. That court had denied a motion by the EFF to unseal those records. 

The district court held that “the passage of a mere five months precluded EEF — and presumably any future members of the press or public with an interest in this case — from moving to unseal judicial records in this action.”  

The court stated that the passage of five months made the motion untimely and prejudicial. 

But the amicus brief argues that “the passage of time often dissolves any basis for concealing records of great historical significance or other interest to the public.” 

The News/Media Alliance reported on Thursday that it has joined the brief. The signatories of also include The New York Times, Hearst, Dow Jones, Politico, Gannett, Axios, BuzzFeed, McClatchy, Los Angeles Times Communications, National Newspaper Association, National Press Club and numerous other entities.