dTechs EPM Ltd. v. British Columbia Hydro & Power Authority, 2019 FC 539
Justice Lafrenière - 2019-04-29
Read full decision. Automatically generated summary:
This is a motion brought by the Defendant, BC Hydro, for a “protective order” providing for the protection and maintenance of claims of confidentiality in certain materials to be disclosed and exchanged between the parties in the context of a patent infringement action brought by the Plaintiff, dTechs EPM Ltd. [dTechs] against BC Hydro and Awesense. ... Although I agree with BC Hydro that the issuance of a protective order is justified on the facts of this case, as explained further below, I disagree that a protective order is subject to the stringent criteria set in Sierra Club for a confidentiality order. In my view, this finding is based on an incorrect premise that discovery is intrinsically public, an assumption that was used to justify imposing open court considerations to matters that have little, if anything, to do with the public interest. ... Finally, I wish to add that given the fairly low test that a party has to satisfy to obtain a protective order, parties should be encouraged to apply informally to the Court, particularly in case managed proceedings, when such relief is sought on consent of the parties or is unopposed.
Decision relates to:
- T-227-17 - DTECHS EPM LTD. v. BRITISH COLUMBIA HYDRO AND POWER AUTHORITY et al.