O'Grady v. Superior Court

In O'Grady v. Superior Court, 139 Cal. App. 4th 1423, 44 Cal.Rptr. 3d 72 (Cal. Ct. App. 2006), a computer manufacturer sued website publishers for publishing allegedly confidential company information and sought to discover the identity of the publisher's source. Id. In discussing the relative interests, the court stated: "In the abstract, at least, it seems plain that where both cannot be accommodated, it is the statutory quasi-property right that must give way, not the deeply rooted constitutional right to share and acquire information." Id. at 113. Moreover, the appellate court found that when the alleged trade secret is of great public interest, the balance also tips against private property interests. See id.