Bunner

Plaintiff DVD Copy Control Association, Inc. (DVD CCA) sued defendant Andrew Bunner (Bunner) and others under California’s Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA) (Civ. Code, § 3426 et seq.), seeking an injunction to prevent defendants from using or publishing “DeCSS,” a computer program allegedly containing DVD CCA’s trade secrets.

The trial court granted DVD CCA’s request for a preliminary injunction and entered an order prohibiting defendants from posting, disclosing, or distributing DeCSS or related proprietary material. Bunner appealed. His primary argument on appeal was that the injunction infringed his free speech rights under the state and federal constitutions. This court concluded that the injunction was an unconstitutional prior restraint and reversed.

The California Supreme Court granted review and held that the preliminary injunction did not violate the free speech clauses of the United States and California Constitutions “assuming the trial court properly issued the injunction under California’s trade secret law.” (DVD Copy Control Assn., Inc. v. Bunner (2003) 31 Cal.4th 864, 889 [ 4 Cal.Rptr.3d 69 , 75 P.3d 1 ] (DVD).) The Supreme Court remanded the matter to…