Nike, Inc. v. La La Land Production & Design, Inc.

• Court: District Court, C.D. California
• Decided: June 1, 2021
• Docket: 2:21-cv-00443
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 13 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA - WESTERN DIVISION 14 NIKE, INC., Case No. 2:21-cv-0443-MCS-PVC 15

16 Plaintiff, STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 17 v.

18 LA LA LAND PRODUCTION & 19 DESIGN, INC.

20 Defendant. 21 LA LA LAND PRODUCTION & 22 DESIGN, INC., 23 Counterclaimant, 24 v. 25 NIKE, INC. 26 Counterclaim- 27 Defendant. 1 1. INTRODUCTION 2 1.1 PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 3 Discovery in this Lanham Act and unfair competition action is likely to involve 4 production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special 5 protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting 6 this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and 7 petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties 8 acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or 9 responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and 10 use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential 11 treatment under the applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as 12 set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle 13 them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the 14 procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party 15 seeks permission from the court to file material under seal. 16 1.2 GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 17 This action involves claims and counterclaims brought under the trademark of 18 the United States, California’s unfair competition law, and the common law on 19 trademark infringement and unfair competition. The issues in this action include 20 whether certain trademarks and trade dress have been infringed or diluted; whether 21 certain trademarks are invalid as a matter of law or barred from enforcement by, 22 among other things, utilitarian functionality, waiver, acquiescence, naked licensing, 23 and ineligibility; and whether and to what extent Plaintiff has suffered harm, including 24 reputational harm, from the alleged infringement. As such, this action may require 25 production of trade secrets, product design documentation, marketing and business 26 plans, and other valuable research, development, commercial, financial, technical 27 and/or proprietary information for which special protection from public disclosure 1 confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, among other things, 2 confidential business or financial information, including pricing terms, financial 3 performance, and business plans; information regarding confidential research, 4 including market and competitive research; development, or commercial information, 5 including information implicating privacy rights of third parties such as customer 6 information and third-party agreements regarding royalties and intellectual property 7 rights; proprietary information related to the manufacture of products; proprietary 8 information related to customer and supplier relationships; and information otherwise 9 generally unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected 10 from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common 11 law. 12 The parties believe good cause exists to limit the disclosure and use of such 13 confidential and proprietary information because disclosure to the public is likely to 14 harm the parties’ businesses and competitive standing. See, e.g., In re Elec. Arts, Inc., 15 298 F. App’x 568, 569 (9th Cir. 2008) (finding compelling reasons to limit disclosure 16 of pricing terms, royalty rates, and guaranteed minimum payment terms because of 17 risk to party’s competitive standing); Rodman v. Safeway, Inc., 2013 WL 12173601, 18 at *2 (N.D. Cal. 2013) (sealing “valuable internal information not otherwise made 19 available to the public regarding Safeway.com’s pricing strategies, pricing 20 methodology, internal business strategy, and financial performance, as well as 21 transaction and customer data”). 22 Further, disclosure of certain confidential and proprietary materials and 23 information, including customer and supplier lists, supplier information, and product 24 design documents, to the other party and its employees therefore creates a tangible 25 risk of competitive harm. Thus, the parties believe certain confidential and 26 proprietary materials and information in this case should be disclosed to outside 27 counsel only and not to the receiving party or its employees. See Intel Corp. v. VIA 1 allow in-house employee to view records because potential injury from disclosure to 2 employees of opposing party “would be great, because the information could be used 3 to duplicate [party’s] products, compete for its customers, or interfere with its 4 business plan”); Nutratech, Inc. v. Syntech (SSPF) Int’l., Inc., 242 F.R.D. 552, 555- 5 56 (C.D. Cal. 2007) (recognizing that in cases involving claims of trademark 6 infringement, production of customer and supplier lists “are customarily produced 7 subject to an ‘attorney’s eyes only’ order”). 8 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt 9 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately 10 protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the 11 parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and 12 in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve 13 the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this matter. 14 It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as confidential for 15 tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it 16 has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause 17 why it should not be part of the public record of this case. 18 2. DEFINITIONS 19 2.1 Action: the above-captioned federal lawsuit. 20 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation 21 of information or items under this Order. 22 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of 23 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection 24 under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good 25 Cause Statement. 26 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their 27 support staff). 1 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or 2 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 3 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL.” 4 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless 5 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, 6 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or 7 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 8 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 9 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as 10 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 11 2.8 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: 12 “CONFIDENTIAL” information relating to highly sensitive financial information, 13 including but not limited to, customer identification, sales prices to specific 14 customers, profit margins and prospective marketing strategies, and highly sensitive 15 technical information, including but not limited to, product design and development 16 materials, schematics, drawings, specifications, manufacturing techniques and know- 17 how, proprietary supplier and customer relationships, or other highly sensitive, trade 18 secret technical information not yet publicly disclosed in which the Party or Non- 19 party has an interest that such materials should be protected from disclosure to other 20 parties, and should be strictly viewable only by Outside Counsel of Record or others 21 as described in Section 7.3. 22 2.9: House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. 23 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside 24 counsel. 25 2.10 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or 26 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 27 2.11 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party 1 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which 2 has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff. 3 2.12 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 4 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 5 support staffs). 6 2.13 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 7 Discovery Material in this Action. 8 2.14 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support 9 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 10 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) 11 and their employees and subcontractors. 12 2.15 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 13 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL.” 14 2.16 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material 15 from a Producing Party. 16 3. SCOPE 17 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only 18 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted 19 from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of 20 Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties 21 or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. 22 Any use of Protected Material at trial will be governed by the orders of the trial 23 judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 24 4. DURATION 25 Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations 26 imposed by this Order will remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise 27 in writing or a court order otherwise directs. Final disposition will be deemed to be 1 prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the completion and exhaustion of all 2 appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this Action, including the time 3 limits for filing any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to 4 applicable law. 5 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 6 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. 7 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this 8 Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies 9 under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection 10 only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that 11 qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items, or communications 12 for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of 13 this Order. 14 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations 15 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 16 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose 17 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party 18 to sanctions. 19 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 20 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 21 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 22 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 23 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise 24 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection 25 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or 26 produced. 27 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 1 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents, 2 but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the 3 Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY 4 CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “Confidentiality Legend”), to each page that contains 5 protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for 6 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) 7 (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 8 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection 9 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated 10 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before 11 the designation, all of the material made available for inspection will be deemed 12 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the 13 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which 14 documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before 15 producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the appropriate 16 Confidentiality Legend to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a 17 portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing 18 Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate 19 markings in the margins). 20 (b) for testimony given in depositions, a Party or Non-party may, if appropriate 21 designate specific portions of the transcript “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY 22 CONFIDENTIAL” at the deposition or within thirty (30) days of completion of the 23 final transcript, and any portions so designated shall thereafter be treated in 24 accordance with the terms of this Order. Any portions not designated within the thirty 25 (30) day timeframe shall thereafter be treated as non-Protected Material. Until the 26 expiration of the thirty (30) day timeframe, deposition transcripts shall be treated as 27 HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL. 1 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for any 2 other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the exterior 3 of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend 4 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions 5 of the information warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, 6 will identify the protected portion(s). 7 (d) for information produced in non-tangible form, that the Producing Party 8 apply the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” in the 9 filename, subject line, or in some other manner reasonably calculated to apprise a 10 person of the designation. 11 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 12 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the 13 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. 14 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable 15 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this 16 Order. 17 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 18 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 19 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s 20 Scheduling Order. 21 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party will initiate the dispute 22 resolution process (and, if necessary, file a discovery motion) under Local Rule 37.1 23 et seq. 24 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding will be on 25 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose 26 (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may 27 expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived 1 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing 2 Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge. 3 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 4 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 5 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 6 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such 7 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the 8 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving 9 Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION). 10 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 11 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 12 authorized under this Order. 13 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 14 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 15 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 16 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 17 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well 18 as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary 19 to disclose the information for this Action; 20 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the 21 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 22 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 23 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 24 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), provided, however, the 25 signed Acknowledgement and Agreement to Be Bound is: 26 (1) is delivered to counsel for all other Parties within two 27 business days of execution; or, 1 disclosure of Protected Material to the Expert; 2 (d) the Court and its personnel; 3 (e) court reporters and their staff; 4 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 5 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have 6 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 7 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 8 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 9 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the 10 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party 11 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they will 12 not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the 13 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise 14 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed 15 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be 16 separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as 17 permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 18 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 19 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 20 7.3. Disclosure of “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. 21 Unless otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating 22 Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 23 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” only to those persons listed in Sections 8.2 (a), (c), 24 (d), (e), (f), (g), and (i). 25 26 27 1 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED 2 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION 3 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 4 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 5 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” that Party must: 6 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification will 7 include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 8 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order 9 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena 10 or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification will include a copy of 11 this Stipulated Protective Order; and 12 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued 13 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 14 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with 15 the subpoena or court order will not produce any information designated in this action 16 as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by 17 the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the 18 Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party will bear the burden and 19 expense of seeking protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in 20 these provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party 21 in this Action to disobey a lawful directive from another court. 22 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 23 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 24 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a 25 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY 26 CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced by Non-Parties in connection with 27 this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing 1 in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking 2 additional protections. 3 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to 4 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is 5 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s 6 confidential information, then the Party will: 7 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party 8 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement 9 with a Non-Party; 10 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated 11 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably 12 specific description of the information requested; and 13 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non- 14 Party, if requested. 15 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 16 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party 17 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery 18 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party will not 19 produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the 20 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. 21 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party will bear the burden and expense 22 of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material. 23 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 24 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 25 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 26 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in 27 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts 1 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, 2 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and 3 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 4 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 5 PROTECTED MATERIAL 6 11.1. No Waiver. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502, the Court orders 7 that an inadvertent disclosure of privileged or protected material does not waive 8 privilege or protection in any other federal or state proceeding. 9 11.2. Procedure for Return. If information subject to a claim of privilege or 10 work product protection is inadvertently produced, such production shall in no way 11 prejudice or otherwise constitute a waiver of, or estoppel as to, any claim of privilege 12 or work-product protection for such information. If a Producing Party has 13 inadvertently produced information subject to a claim of privilege or protection, upon 14 written request made by the Producing Party of such inadvertent production, the 15 information for which a claim of inadvertent production is made, including all copies, 16 shall be returned or confirmed in writing to be permanently destroyed (i.e., 17 permanently deleted, shredded, etc.) within two (2) court days of such request unless 18 the receiving party intends to challenge the producing party’s assertion of privilege or 19 protection. All copies of inadvertently produced documents shall be destroyed, and 20 any document or material information reflecting the contents of the inadvertently 21 produced information shall be expunged. If a Receiving Party objects to the return of 22 such information within the two (2) court day period described above, the Receiving 23 Party may move the Court for an order determining the status of the information 24 following the procedures of Local Rule 37.1. Pending the ruling, a Receiving Party 25 may retain the inadvertently produced documents in a sealed envelope and shall not 26 make any use of such information. 27 1 12. MISCELLANEOUS 2 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any 3 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 4 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 5 Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to 6 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this 7 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any 8 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order. 9 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 10 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may 11 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific 12 Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material under seal 13 is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public 14 record unless otherwise instructed by the court. 15 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 16 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60 17 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return 18 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this 19 subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, 20 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected 21 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving 22 Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same 23 person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies 24 (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or 25 destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, 26 abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any 27 of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to 1 || transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert 2 || reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such 3 || materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or 4 |) constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in 5 || Section 4 (DURATION). 6 || 14. Any willful violation of this Order may be punished by civil or criminal 7 || contempt proceedings, financial or evidentiary sanctions, reference to disciplinary 8 || authorities, or other appropriate action at the discretion of the Court. 9 10 || FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN BY THE PARTIES’ STIPULATION, IT IS SO 11 || ORDERED. 12 13 14 || DATED: June 1, 2021 fu Nh 1 United States Magistrate Judge 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3 4 I, _____________________________ [full name], of _________________ 5 [full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and 6 understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States 7 District Court for the Central District of California on June 1, 2021 in the case of La 8 La Land Production & Design, Inc. v. Nike, Inc., CV 21-0443 MCS (PVCx). I agree 9 to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order 10 and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to 11 sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will 12 not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated 13 Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the 14 provisions of this Order. 15 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court 16 for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this 17 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after 18 termination of this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [full 19 name] of _______________________________________ [full address and 20 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with 21 this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective 22 Order. 23 Date: ______________________________________ 24 City and State where signed: _________________________________ 25 26 Printed name: _______________________________ 27