Microsoft and Google's motion at the FISC (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court) to allow them to disclose their policies and some aggregate data on their compliance with court-ordered disclosures of customer data will be proceeding to litigation before the FISC.

In July, both companies made vague motions to the court for such disclosure. Microsoft explained their motion in a blog entry by General Counsel & Executive Vice President, Legal & Corporate Affairs Brad Smith.

Since that time, the government has requested, and the court has granted, a series of delays before the government had to reply to the motions. Microsoft says that during those delays the companies negotiated with the government for a settlement.

Last week those negotiations failed. Microsoft and Google announced that they would not agree to any more extensions. They filed with the court a motion to stay proceedings for 10 days so that they could prepare amended motions for declaratory relief.

The court granted the stay and ordered Microsoft and Google to submit the modified motions by 5PM this coming Monday, September 9.

These new motions will be much more specific as to the level of disclosure sought by the companies. They will also be public.

This may not be true of the rest of the proceedings. Whether the proceedings of the litigation will be released by the court is not clear at this point