1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 2 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 3
4 INI, LLC, Case No. 25-cv-4685 5 Plaintiff, 6 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE v. 7 ORDER1
8 MMAD Games, LLC and
Imagination 9 Gaming Inc., 10 11 Defendants. 12 MMAD Games, LLC and 13 Imagination 14 Gaming Inc., Counterclaimants, 15 v. 16
17 INI, LLC, 18 Counter- 19 Defendant. 20
21 22 1. INTRODUCTION 23 1.1 Purposes and Limitations. Discovery in this action is likely to 24 involve production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for 25 26 27 1 This Stipulated Protective Order is substantially based on the model protective order provided under Magistrate Judge Stephanie S. 1 which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any 2 purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. 3 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the court to 4 enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties 5 acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all 6 disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords 7 from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or 8 items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable 9 legal principles. 10 1.2 Good Cause Statement. : 11 This action is likely to involve trade secrets, customer and pricing 12 lists and other valuable research, development, commercial, financial, 13 technical and/or proprietary information for which special protection 14 from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than 15 prosecution of this action is warranted. Such confidential and 16 proprietary materials and information consist of, among other things, 17 confidential business or financial information, information regarding 18 confidential business practices, or other confidential research, 19 development, or commercial information (including information 20 implicating privacy rights of third parties), information otherwise 21 22 generally unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or 23 otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court 24 rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of 25 information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over 26 confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information 27 the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties 1 for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the 2 litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such 3 information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that 4 information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons 5 and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has 6 been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good 7 cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case. 8 1.3 Acknowledgment of Procedure for Filing Under Seal. The 9 parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this 10 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential 11 information under seal; Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that 12 must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party 13 seeks permission from the court to file material under seal. 14 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access 15 to judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with 16 non-dispositive motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing 17 under seal. See Kamakana v. City and Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 18 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips ex rel. Ests. of Byrd v. Gen. Motors 19 Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210–11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony 20 Elecs., Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated 21 22 protective orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of 23 good cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and 24 legal justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material that 25 a party seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere designation of 26 Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not— 27 without the submission of competent evidence by declaration, 1 confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute good cause. 2 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion 3 or trial, then compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing 4 must be shown, and the relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve 5 the specific interest to be protected. See Pintos v. Pac. Creditors Ass’n, 6 605 F.3d 665, 677–79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item or type of 7 information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under 8 seal in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking 9 protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific 10 facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, 11 competent evidence supporting the application to file documents under 12 seal must be provided by declaration. 13 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise 14 protectable in its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential 15 portions can be redacted. If documents can be redacted, then a redacted 16 version for public viewing, omitting only the confidential, privileged, or 17 otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall be filed. Any 18 application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety 19 should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 20
21 22 2. DEFINITIONS 23 2.1 Action: This pending federal lawsuit. 24 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the 25 designation of information or items under this Order. 26 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information 27 (regardless of how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible 1 things that qualify for protection under Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of 2 Civil Procedure, and as specified above in the Good Cause Statement. 3 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record (as well as their support 4 staff). 5 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates 6 information or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to 7 discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 8 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, 9 regardless of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or 10 maintained (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and 11 tangible things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or 12 responses to discovery in this matter. 13 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in 14 a matter pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or 15 its counsel to serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 16 2.8 Final Disposition: the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and 17 defenses in this Action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment 18 herein after the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, 19 remands, trials, or reviews of this Action, including the time limits for 20 filing any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to 21 22 applicable law. 23 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, 24 association, or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 25 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees 26 of a party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to 27 this Action and have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or 1 appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
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1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 2 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 3
4 INI, LLC, Case No. 25-cv-4685 5 Plaintiff, 6 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE v. 7 ORDER1
8 MMAD Games, LLC and
Imagination 9 Gaming Inc., 10 11 Defendants. 12 MMAD Games, LLC and 13 Imagination 14 Gaming Inc., Counterclaimants, 15 v. 16
17 INI, LLC, 18 Counter- 19 Defendant. 20
21 22 1. INTRODUCTION 23 1.1 Purposes and Limitations. Discovery in this action is likely to 24 involve production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for 25 26 27 1 This Stipulated Protective Order is substantially based on the model protective order provided under Magistrate Judge Stephanie S. 1 which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any 2 purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. 3 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the court to 4 enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties 5 acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all 6 disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords 7 from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or 8 items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable 9 legal principles. 10 1.2 Good Cause Statement. : 11 This action is likely to involve trade secrets, customer and pricing 12 lists and other valuable research, development, commercial, financial, 13 technical and/or proprietary information for which special protection 14 from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than 15 prosecution of this action is warranted. Such confidential and 16 proprietary materials and information consist of, among other things, 17 confidential business or financial information, information regarding 18 confidential business practices, or other confidential research, 19 development, or commercial information (including information 20 implicating privacy rights of third parties), information otherwise 21 22 generally unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or 23 otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court 24 rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of 25 information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over 26 confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information 27 the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties 1 for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the 2 litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such 3 information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that 4 information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons 5 and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has 6 been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good 7 cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case. 8 1.3 Acknowledgment of Procedure for Filing Under Seal. The 9 parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this 10 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential 11 information under seal; Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that 12 must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party 13 seeks permission from the court to file material under seal. 14 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access 15 to judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with 16 non-dispositive motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing 17 under seal. See Kamakana v. City and Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 18 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips ex rel. Ests. of Byrd v. Gen. Motors 19 Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210–11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony 20 Elecs., Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated 21 22 protective orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of 23 good cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and 24 legal justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material that 25 a party seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere designation of 26 Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not— 27 without the submission of competent evidence by declaration, 1 confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute good cause. 2 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion 3 or trial, then compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing 4 must be shown, and the relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve 5 the specific interest to be protected. See Pintos v. Pac. Creditors Ass’n, 6 605 F.3d 665, 677–79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item or type of 7 information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under 8 seal in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking 9 protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific 10 facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, 11 competent evidence supporting the application to file documents under 12 seal must be provided by declaration. 13 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise 14 protectable in its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential 15 portions can be redacted. If documents can be redacted, then a redacted 16 version for public viewing, omitting only the confidential, privileged, or 17 otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall be filed. Any 18 application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety 19 should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 20
21 22 2. DEFINITIONS 23 2.1 Action: This pending federal lawsuit. 24 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the 25 designation of information or items under this Order. 26 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information 27 (regardless of how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible 1 things that qualify for protection under Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of 2 Civil Procedure, and as specified above in the Good Cause Statement. 3 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record (as well as their support 4 staff). 5 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates 6 information or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to 7 discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 8 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, 9 regardless of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or 10 maintained (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and 11 tangible things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or 12 responses to discovery in this matter. 13 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in 14 a matter pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or 15 its counsel to serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 16 2.8 Final Disposition: the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and 17 defenses in this Action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment 18 herein after the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, 19 remands, trials, or reviews of this Action, including the time limits for 20 filing any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to 21 22 applicable law. 23 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, 24 association, or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 25 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees 26 of a party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to 27 this Action and have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or 1 appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff. To the 2 extent that any attorney desiring to access Protected Material is not with 3 a firm that has appeared in this Action but may be engaged to provide 4 legal support to an attorney at a firm who has made an appearance in 5 this Action, such attorney(s) shall not be considered within the scope of 6 “Outside Counsel of Record” unless and until such Counsel has identified 7 himself/herself and his/her firm to opposing counsel. 8 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, 9 directors, employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel 10 of Record (and their support staffs). 11 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces 12 Disclosure or Discovery Material in this Action. 13 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide 14 litigation- support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, 15 preparing exhibits or demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or 16 retrieving data in any form or medium) and their employees and 17 subcontractors. 18 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that 19 is designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 20 21 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery 22 Material from a Producing Party. 23 24 3. SCOPE 25 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not 26 only Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information 27 copied or extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, 1 summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any 2 testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel 3 that might reveal Protected Material. 4 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the 5 orders of the trial judge. This Stipulated Protective Order does not 6 govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 7 8 4. TRIAL AND DURATION 9 The terms of this Stipulated Protective Order apply through Final 10 Disposition of the Action. 11 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as 12 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this Stipulated Protective 13 14 Order and used or introduced as an exhibit at trial becomes public and 15 will be presumptively available to all members of the public, including 16 the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual 17 findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of 18 the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180–81 (distinguishing “good 19 cause” showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from 20 “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents are part 21 of court record). Accordingly, for such materials, the terms of this 22 Stipulated Protective Order do not extend beyond the commencement of 23 the trial. 24 Even after Final Disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality 25 obligations imposed by this Stipulated Protective Order shall remain in 26 effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court 27 order otherwise directs. 1 2 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 3 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for 4 Protection. Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or 5 items for protection under this Order must take care to limit any such 6 designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate 7 standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection only 8 those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written 9 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, 10 documents, items, or communications for which protection is not 11 warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. 12 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. 13 Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been 14 made for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case 15 development process or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on 16 other parties) may expose the Designating Party to sanctions. 17 18 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or 19 items that it designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that 20 Designating Party must promptly notify all other Parties that it is 21 withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 22 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise 23 provided in this Stipulated Protective Order (see, e.g., second paragraph 24 of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure 25 or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Stipulated 26 Protective Order must be clearly so designated before the material is 27 disclosed or produced. 1 Designation in conformity with this Stipulated Protective Order 2 requires: 3 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 4 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or 5 trial proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the 6 legend “CONFIDENTIAL” to each page that contains protected 7 material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page 8 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify 9 the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the 10 margins). 11 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for 12 inspection need not designate them for protection until after the 13 inspecting Party has indicated which documents it would like copied 14 and produced. During the inspection and before the designation, all of 15 the material made available for inspection shall be deemed 16 CONFIDENTIAL. After the inspecting Party has identified the 17 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must 18 determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection 19 under this Stipulated Protective Order. Then, before producing the 20 21 specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the 22 “CONFIDENTIAL” legend to each page that contains Protected 23 Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page 24 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify 25 the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the 26 margins). 27 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party 1 close of the deposition all protected testimony. 2 (c) for information produced in some form other than 3 documentary and for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party 4 affix in a prominent place on the exterior of the container or containers 5 in which the information is stored the “CONFIDENTIAL” legend. If only 6 a portion or portions of the information warrants protection, the 7 Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected 8 portion(s). 9 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an 10 inadvertent failure to designate qualified information or items does not, 11 standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s right to secure protection 12 under this Order for such material. Upon timely correction of a 13 designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure 14 that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this 15 Stipulated Protective Order. 16
17 18 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 19 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may 20 challenge a designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent 21 with the court’s Scheduling Order. 22 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the 23 dispute resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq. and with 24 Section 2 of Judge Christensen’s Civil Procedures titled “Brief Pre- 25 Discovery Motion Conference.”2 26
27 2 Judge Christensen’s Procedures are available at 1 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding 2 shall be on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those 3 made for an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary 4 expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Challenging 5 Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or 6 withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to 7 afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is 8 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the court rules on 9 the challenge. 10
11 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 12 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected 13 Material that is disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non- 14 Party in connection with this Action only for prosecuting, defending, or 15 attempting to settle this Action. Such Protected Material may be 16 17 disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the conditions 18 described in this Order. When the Action reaches a Final Disposition, a 19 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below. 20 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving 21 Party at a location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is 22 limited to the persons authorized under this Stipulated Protective 23 Order. 24 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. 25 Unless otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the 26 Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or 27 item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only: 1 (a) to the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this 2 Action, as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom 3 it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 4 (b) to the officers, directors, and employees of the Receiving 5 Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 6 (c) to Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to 7 whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have 8 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 9 (d) to the court and its personnel; 10 (e) to court reporters and their staff; 11 (f) to professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and 12 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for 13 this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement 14 to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 15 (g) to the author or recipient of a document containing the 16 information or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or 17 knew the information; 18 (h) during their depositions, to witnesses, and attorneys for 19 witnesses, in the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary, 20 provided: (1) the deposing party requests that the witness sign the 21 22 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); and (2) the 23 witness will not be permitted to keep any confidential information 24 unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” 25 (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or 26 ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or 27 exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately 1 as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 2 (i) to any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting 3 personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in 4 settlement discussions. 5 6 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED 7 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION 8 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in 9 other litigation that compels disclosure of any information or items 10 designated in this Action as “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 11 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such 12 notification shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 13 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the 14 subpoena or order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the 15 material covered by the subpoena or order is subject to this Protective 16 Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated 17 18 Protective Order; and 19 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to 20 be pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be 21 affected. 22 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the 23 Party served with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any 24 information designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a 25 determination by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, 26 unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The 27 Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking 1 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these 2 provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a 3 Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive from another 4 court. 5 6 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 7 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 8 9.1 Application. The terms of this Stipulated Protective Order 9 are applicable to information produced by a Non-Party in this Action and 10 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced by Non- 11 Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies 12 and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be 13 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional 14 protections. 15 9.2 Notification. In the event that a Party is required, by a valid 16 discovery request, to produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in 17 its possession, and the Party is subject to an agreement with the Non- 18 Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential information, then the 19 Party shall: 20 21 (a) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the 22 Non-Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a 23 confidentiality agreement with a Non-Party; 24 (b) make the information requested available for inspection by 25 the Non-Party, if requested. 26 9.3 Conditions of Production. If the Non-Party fails to seek a 27 protective order from this court within 14 days of receiving the notice 1 Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request. 2 If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party 3 shall not produce any information in its possession or control that is 4 subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a 5 determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the 6 Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in 7 this court of its Protected Material. 8
9 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED 10 MATERIAL 11 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it 12 has disclosed Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance 13 not authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving 14 Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the Designating Party of 15 the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all 16 17 unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or 18 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of 19 this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the 20 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A). 21 22 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR 23 OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL 24 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that 25 certain inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege 26 or other protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set 27 1 provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be 2 established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without 3 prior privilege review. Pursuant to Rules 502(d) and (e) of the Federal 4 Rules of Evidence, insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the 5 effect of disclosure of a communication or information covered by the 6 attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the parties may 7 incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order 8 submitted to the court. 9
10 12. MISCELLANEOUS 11 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Stipulated 12 Protective Order abridges the right of any person to seek its 13 modification by the court in the future. 14 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry 15 of this Stipulated Protective Order no Party waives any right it 16 17 otherwise would have to object to disclosing or producing any 18 information or item on any ground not addressed in this Stipulated 19 Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any 20 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this 21 Stipulated Protective Order. 22 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under 23 seal any Protected Material must comply with Local Rule 79-5. 24 Protected Material may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court 25 order authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected Material at issue. 26 If a Party's request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by the 27 court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public 1 record unless otherwise instructed by the court. 2 3 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 4 After the Final Disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 5 4, within 60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each 6 Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing 7 Party or destroy such material. As used in this subdivision, “all 8 Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, 9 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the 10 Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or 11 destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written certification to 12 the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the 13 Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by 14 category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was 15 returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not 16 retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other 17 18 format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. 19 Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel is entitled to retain an archival 20 copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing 21 transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial 22 exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and 23 expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. 24 Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material 25 remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4. 26
27 1 || 14. VIOLATION 2 Any violation of this Stipulated Protective Order may be punished 3 || by any and all appropriate measures including, without limitation, 4 || contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions. 5 6 || IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 7 8 DATED: November 18, 2025 s/Eleanor M. Lackman ° Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 10 11 DATED: November 138, 2025 _s/Ben M. Davidson B Attorney(s) for Defendants 14 15 is || FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. 17 ig || DATED:__ November 17, 2025 19 STEPHANIE □□□ CHRISTENSEN 50 United States Magistrate Judge 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
1 EXHIBIT A ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 2
3 I, ________________________ [print or type full name], of 4 _________________ [print or type full address], declare under 5 penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the 6 Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States 7 District Court for the Central District of California on [date] in the 8 case of __________ [insert formal name of the case and the 9 number and initials assigned to it by the court]. I agree to 10 comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated 11 Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so 12 13 comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of 14 contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner 15 any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective 16 Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the 17 provisions of this Order. 18 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States 19 District Court for the Central District of California for the purpose of 20 enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such 21 enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action. I 22 hereby appoint ________________________ [print or type full name] 23 of _________ [print or type full address and telephone number] as 24 25 26 27 1 my California agent for service of process in connection with this action 2 or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective 3 Order. 4 5 Date: ___________________________ 6 City and State where sworn and 7 signed: ___________________________ 8 Printed name: ___________________________ 9 Signature: ___________________________ 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27