IANAL. The legal term for that the government is seeking is "declaratory judgement"[0]. "A declaratory judgment, also called a declaration, is the legal deter

IANAL. The legal term for that the government is seeking is "declaratory judgement"[0]. "A declaratory judgment, also called a declaration, is the legal determination of a court that resolves legal uncertainty for the litigants. It is a form of legally binding preventive adjudication by which a party involved in an actual or possible legal matter can ask a court to conclusively rule on and affirm the rights, duties, or obligations of one or more parties in a civil dispute (subject to any appeal)." Here the government is asking the court to declare that the subject matter is off limits, and not available to be released, as a matter of law. Declaratory judgments are probably best known here on HN with regards to patent litigation. If a company receives a 'cease and desist', alleging the non-licensed use of a patent, that company might file for a declaratory judgement that their product does not actual infringe on the patent. [0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaratory_judgment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaratory_judgment