TTAB Says Parties Cannot Unilaterally Redact Irrelevant And Confidential Information In Document Production

The TTAB recently granted a motion to compel production of unredacted versions of documents on the ground that redaction of information deemed confidential or irrelevant is contrary to liberal discovery policies.

The applicant redacted certain portions of its documents on the ground the information was irrelevant (i.e., pertaining to product lines not at issue) or confidential. In an attempt to allay the opposer's concerns regarding the redactions, the applicant offered to let the opposer review representative unredacted documents. The opposer declined that offer and filed a motion to compel.

The Board found that the applicant's redactions ran counter to the rules of discovery. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34 discusses production of "documents," rather than paragraphs or sentences. And, according to the Board, redaction of otherwise discoverable documents is the exception rather than the rule for good reason. Quoting a federal district court, the