Practical Law Glossary Item 9-520-0527 (Approx. 3 pages)
Glossary
Protective Order
In civil litigation, an order that prevents the disclosure of certain information.
A party or person, such as a non-party recipient of a subpoena, may move for a protective order by showing good cause that the court should not permit the requested discovery because the discovery request is:
Annoying.
Embarrassing.
Oppressive.
Unduly burdensome.
Expensive.
Parties also may agree to enter into a protective order (also referred to as a confidentiality order) to keep confidential information protected from disclosure outside of the case. The parties may agree to provisions:
Protecting the disclosure of commercially sensitive information, such as trade secrets, or personal information to anyone outside of the case.