DVD Copy Control Assn., Inc. v. Bunner

In DVD Copy Control Assn., Inc. v. Bunner (2003) 31 Cal.4th 864, the trial court issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting a defendant from disclosing misappropriated trade secrets. In upholding the ruling, DVD Copy explained that "the injunction singled out the defendant's communications because of the plaintiff's efforts to maintain the secrecy of the trade secrets and the competitive advantage it enjoyed from those efforts--and not because of the communications' subject matter or any disagreement with the defendant's message or viewpoint. In other words, the trial court issued the injunction to protect the plaintiff's statutorily created property interest in information--and not to suppress the content of the defendant's communications. Because the injunction is justified without reference to the content of the defendant's communications, it is content neutral." (DVD Copy, supra, at p. 878.)