MZ Audio Sciences, LLC v. Sony Group Corporation Japan
MZ Audio Sciences, LLC v. Sony Group Corporation Japan
Trial Court Opinion
Case 2:22-cv-00866-AB-PD Document 80 Filed 10/14/22 Page 1 of 23 Page ID #:1631
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 10 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 11 WESTERN DIVISION – LOS ANGELES 12 MZ AUDIO SCIENCES, LLC, Case No.: 2:22-cv-00866 AB (PDx)
13 Plaintiff, STIPULATED PROTECTIVE 14 v. ORDER1
15 SONY GROUP CORPORATION 16 (JAPAN), SONY CORPORATION OF AMERICA, SONY INTERACTIVE 17 ENTERTAINMENT LLC, SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT INC., 18 SONY ELECTRONICS INC., 19 Defendants. 20
21 22 23 24 25 1 This Stipulated Protective Order is based on the model protective order provided 26 under Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue’s Procedures. The Parties further 27 contemplate entering into a Source Code Addendum to handle the production and review of highly confidential source code but for the sake of efficiency have decided 28 to handle the Source Code Addendum separately. Case No. 2:22-cv-00866 AB (PDx) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:22-cv-00866-AB-PD Document 80 Filed 10/14/22 Page 2 of 23 Page ID #:1632
1 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 2 Disclosure and discovery activity in this Action are likely to involve 3 production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special 4 protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than 5 prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the Parties hereby 6 stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. 7 The Parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all 8 disclosures or responses to discovery and the protection it affords from public 9 disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled 10 to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. 11 A. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 12 This Action is likely to involve proprietary computer source code, sales and 13 financial information, technical documents, and other valuable research, 14 development, commercial, financial, technical and/or proprietary information for 15 which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other 16 than the prosecution of this Action is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary 17 materials and information consist of, among other things, confidential business or 18 financial information, information regarding confidential business practices, or other 19 confidential research, development, or commercial information (including 20 information proprietary and confidential to third parties), information otherwise 21 generally unavailable to the public, or which may be protected from disclosure under 22 state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to 23 expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over 24 the confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the 25 Parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the Parties are permitted 26 reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of 27 trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, 28 a protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the 1 Case No. 2:22-cv-00866 AB (PDx) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:22-cv-00866-AB-PD Document 80 Filed 10/14/22 Page 3 of 23 Page ID #:1633
1 Parties that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons 2 and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been 3 maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it 4 should not be part of the public record of this case. 5 B. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER SEAL 6 The Parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this 7 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information 8 under seal by relying on this Protective Order alone. Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth 9 the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a 10 Party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal. 11 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial 12 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions, 13 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and 14 County of Honolulu,
447 F.3d 1172, 1176(9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen. Motors 15 Corp.,
307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, Inc., 16
187 F.R.D. 576, 577(E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders require good 17 cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or compelling reasons with 18 proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be made with respect to 19 Protected Material that a Party seeks to file under seal. The Parties’ mere designation 20 of Disclosure or Discovery Material as confidential does not—without the submission 21 of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the material sought to be filed 22 under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute 23 good cause. 24 Further, if a Party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then 25 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief 26 sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See 27 Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n,
605 F.3d 665, 677-79(9th Cir. 2010). For each item 28 or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under seal 2 Case No. 2:22-cv-00866 AB (PDx) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:22-cv-00866-AB-PD Document 80 Filed 10/14/22 Page 4 of 23 Page ID #:1634
1 in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the Party seeking protection must 2 articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for 3 the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting the application to 4 file documents under seal must be provided by declaration. 5 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in 6 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If 7 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only 8 the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall 9 be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety 10 should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 11 2. DEFINITIONS 12 2.1 Action or litigation: This pending federal lawsuit captioned above. 13 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation 14 of information or items under this Order. 15 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: Information (regardless of 16 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for 17 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in 18 the Good Cause Statement. 19 2.4 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” 20 Information or Items: extremely sensitive confidential information or items, 21 disclosure of which to another Party or Non-Party would create a substantial risk of 22 serious harm that could not be avoided by less restrictive means. 23 2.5 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and In-House Counsel (as well as 24 their support staff). 25 2.6 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or 26 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 27 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS' EYES 28 ONLY.” 3 Case No. 2:22-cv-00866 AB (PDx) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:22-cv-00866-AB-PD Document 80 Filed 10/14/22 Page 5 of 23 Page ID #:1635
1 2.7 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless 2 of the medium or manner in which they are generated, stored, or maintained 3 (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are 4 produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 5 2.8 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 6 pertinent to the litigation who (1) has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve 7 as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action, (2) is not an employee of a 8 Party, and (3) at the time of retention, is not anticipated to become an employee of a 9 Party. 10 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or 11 other legal entity not named as a Party to this Action. 12 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a Party 13 but are retained to represent or advise a Party and have appeared in this Action on 14 behalf of that Party or are affiliated with a law firm which has appeared on behalf of 15 that Party, and includes support staff. 16 2.11 In-House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a Party. In-House 17 Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other Outside Counsel. 18 2.12 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 19 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 20 support staffs). 21 2.13 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 22 Discovery Material in this Action. 23 2.14 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support 24 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 25 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) 26 and their employees and subcontractors. 27 28 4 Case No. 2:22-cv-00866 AB (PDx) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:22-cv-00866-AB-PD Document 80 Filed 10/14/22 Page 6 of 23 Page ID #:1636
1 2.15 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 2 designated as “CONFIDENITAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – 3 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” 4 2.16 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material 5 from a Producing Party. 6 3. SCOPE 7 The protections conferred by this Order cover not only Protected Material (as 8 defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected 9 Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; 10 and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel 11 that might reveal Protected Material. However, the protections conferred by this 12 Order do not cover the following information: (a) any information that is in the 13 public domain at the time of disclosure to a Receiving Party or becomes part of the 14 public domain after its disclosure to a Receiving Party as a result of publication not 15 involving a violation of this Order, including becoming part of the public record 16 through trial or otherwise; and (b) any information known to the Receiving Party 17 prior to the disclosure or obtained by the Receiving Party after the disclosure from a 18 source who obtained the information lawfully and under no obligation of 19 confidentiality to the Designating Party. Any use of Protected Material at trial shall 20 be governed by a separate agreement or order. 21 4. DURATION 22 Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations 23 imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees 24 otherwise in writing or a court order otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be 25 deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this Action, with 26 or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the completion and 27 exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this Action, 28 5 Case No. 2:22-cv-00866 AB (PDx) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:22-cv-00866-AB-PD Document 80 Filed 10/14/22 Page 7 of 23 Page ID #:1637
1 including the time limits for filing any motions or applications for extension of time 2 pursuant to applicable law. 3 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 4 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. 5 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under 6 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that 7 qualifies under the appropriate standards. To the extent it is practical to do so, the 8 Designating Party must designate for protection only those parts of material, 9 documents, items, or oral or written communications that qualify – so that other 10 portions of the material, documents, items, or communications for which protection 11 is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. 12 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited, particularly 13 with respect to court filings. Reasonable allowances will be made for designations 14 of documents in document productions, specifically in the interests of efficiency 15 when differentiating between Confidential and Highly Confidential – Attorneys 16 Eyes Only documents or portions of documents is challenging on a compressed 17 schedule. Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been 18 made for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber or retard the case 19 development process or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other 20 parties) expose the Designating Party to sanctions. 21 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 22 designated for protection do not qualify for protection at all or do not qualify for the 23 level of protection initially asserted, that Designating Party must notify all other 24 Parties that it is withdrawing the mistaken designation. 25 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 26 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise 27 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection 28 6 Case No. 2:22-cv-00866 AB (PDx) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:22-cv-00866-AB-PD Document 80 Filed 10/14/22 Page 8 of 23 Page ID #:1638
1 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or 2 produced. 3 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 4 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents, 5 transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the Producing 6 Party affix the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – 7 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only 8 a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing 9 Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate 10 markings in the margins) and must specify, for each portion, the level of protection 11 being asserted. 12 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents or materials available for 13 inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has 14 indicated which material it would like copied and produced. During the inspection 15 and before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be 16 deemed “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” After the 17 inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the 18 Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for 19 protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the 20 Producing Party must affix the appropriate legend (“CONFIDENTIAL” or 21 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”) to each page that 22 contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page 23 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected 24 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins) and must specify, 25 for each portion, the level of protection being asserted. 26 (b) for testimony given in deposition or in other pretrial or trial proceedings, 27 that the Designating Party identify on the record, before the close of the deposition, 28 hearing, or other proceeding, all protected testimony and specify the level of 7 Case No. 2:22-cv-00866 AB (PDx) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:22-cv-00866-AB-PD Document 80 Filed 10/14/22 Page 9 of 23 Page ID #:1639
1 protection being asserted. When it is impractical to identify separately each portion 2 of testimony that is entitled to protection and it appears that substantial portions of 3 the testimony may qualify for protection, the Designating Party may invoke on the 4 record (before the deposition, hearing, or other proceeding is concluded) a right to 5 have up to 21 days to identify the specific portions of the testimony as to which 6 protection is sought and to specify the level of protection being asserted. Only those 7 portions of the testimony that are appropriately designated for protection within the 8 21 days shall be covered by the provisions of this Protective Order. Alternatively, a 9 Designating Party may specify, at the deposition or up to 21 days afterwards if that 10 period is properly invoked, that the entire transcript shall be treated as “HIGHLY 11 CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” 12 Parties shall use reasonable efforts to give notice to the Designating Party if 13 they reasonably expect a deposition, hearing or other proceeding to include 14 Protected Material so that the Designating Party can ensure that only authorized 15 individuals who have signed the “Acknowledgement and Agreement to be Bound” 16 (Exhibit A) are present in those proceedings. 17 Transcripts containing Protected Material shall have an obvious legend on the 18 title page that the transcript contains Protected Material, and the title page shall be 19 followed by a list of all pages (including line numbers as appropriate) that have been 20 designated as Protected Material and the level of protection being asserted by the 21 Designating Party. The Designating Party shall inform the court reporter of these 22 requirements. Any transcript that is prepared before the expiration of a 21-day 23 period for designation shall be treated during that period as if it had been designated 24 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” in its entirety unless 25 otherwise agreed. After the expiration of that period, the transcript shall be treated 26 only as actually designated. 27 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for 28 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the 8 Case No. 2:22-cv-00866 AB (PDx) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:22-cv-00866-AB-PD Document 80 Filed 10/14/22 Page 10 of 23 Page ID #:1640
1 exterior of the container or containers in which the information or item is stored the 2 legend “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” If only a 3 portion or portions of the information or item warrant protection, the Producing 4 Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s) and specify the 5 level of protection being asserted. 6 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 7 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive 8 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. 9 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable 10 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this 11 Order. 12 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 13 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 14 designation of confidentiality at any time. The Designating Party and the 15 Challenging Party agree to act reasonably and cooperatively when any challenges to 16 a Designating Party’s confidentiality designations are raised and, to the extent 17 possible, will work diligently together to resolve challenges without court 18 intervention. Unless a prompt challenge to a Designating Party’s confidentiality 19 designation is necessary to avoid foreseeable, substantial unfairness, unnecessary 20 economic burdens, or a significant disruption or delay of the litigation, a Party does 21 not waive its right to challenge a confidentiality designation by electing not to 22 mount a challenge promptly after the original designation is disclosed. 23 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute 24 resolution process by providing written notice of each designation it is challenging 25 and describing the basis for each challenge. To avoid ambiguity as to whether a 26 challenge has been made, the written notice must recite that the challenge to 27 confidentiality is being made in accordance with this specific paragraph of the 28 Protective Order. The Parties shall attempt to resolve each challenge in good faith 9 Case No. 2:22-cv-00866 AB (PDx) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:22-cv-00866-AB-PD Document 80 Filed 10/14/22 Page 11 of 23 Page ID #:1641
1 and must begin the process by conferring directly (in voice-to-voice dialogue; other 2 forms of communication are not sufficient) within 14 days of the date of service of 3 notice. In conferring, the Challenging Party must explain the basis for its belief that 4 the confidentiality designation was not proper and must give the Designating Party 5 an opportunity to review the designated material, to reconsider the circumstances, 6 and, if no change in designation is offered, to explain the basis for the chosen 7 designation. A Challenging Party may proceed to the next stage of the challenge 8 process only if it has engaged in this meet and confer process first or establishes that 9 the Designating Party is unwilling to participate in the meet and confer process in a 10 timely manner. 11 6.3 Judicial Intervention. If the Parties cannot resolve a challenge without 12 court intervention, the Challenging Party may file a motion challenging a 13 confidentiality designation within 14 days of the Parties agreeing that the meet and 14 confer process will not resolve their dispute, if there is good cause for doing so, 15 including a challenge to the designation of a deposition transcript or any portions 16 thereof. Any motion brought pursuant to this provision must be accompanied by a 17 competent declaration affirming that the movant has complied with the meet and 18 confer requirements imposed by the preceding paragraph. 19 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the 20 Designating Party. Frivolous challenges and those made for an improper purpose 21 (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may 22 expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. All Parties shall continue to afford the 23 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the 24 Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge. 25 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 26 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 27 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 28 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this litigation. Such 10 Case No. 2:22-cv-00866 AB (PDx) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:22-cv-00866-AB-PD Document 80 Filed 10/14/22 Page 12 of 23 Page ID #:1642
1 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the 2 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a 3 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 15 below (FINAL 4 DISPOSITION). 5 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 6 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 7 authorized under this Order. 8 7.2. Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information. Unless otherwise 9 ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving 10 Party may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 11 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this action as well as 12 employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to 13 disclose the information for this litigation; 14 (b) three designated In-House Counsel per side or other party representatives 15 of the Receiving party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation 16 (representatives who are not members of the bar in any jurisdiction in the United 17 States must first sign the “Acknowledgement and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit 18 A)); 19 (c) Experts of the Receiving Party (1) to whom disclosure is reasonably 20 necessary for this litigation, (2) who have signed the “Acknowledgment and 21 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), and (3) as to whom the procedures set forth in 22 paragraph 7.4(a), below, have been followed; as well as the Expert’s direct reports 23 and other support personnel to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this 24 litigation; 25 (d) the Court and its personnel, and mediator 26 (e) court reporters and their staff; 27 (f) professional jury or trial consultants and Professional Vendors to whom 28 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation; 11 Case No. 2:22-cv-00866 AB (PDx) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:22-cv-00866-AB-PD Document 80 Filed 10/14/22 Page 13 of 23 Page ID #:1643
1 (g) mock jurors who have signed the “Acknowledgement and Agreement to 2 be Bound” (Exhibit A); 3 (h) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 4 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information. 5 (i) during their depositions, witnesses in the Action to whom disclosure is 6 reasonably necessary and who have signed the “Acknowledgement and Agreement 7 to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), and any witnesses designated by the Designating Party 8 under Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(b)(6) as providing testimony to bind the corporation. Pages 9 of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected 10 Material must be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to 11 anyone except as permitted under this Protective Order. 12 7.3 Disclosure of “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES 13 ONLY”. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the 14 Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item 15 designated “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” only to: 16 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this action as well as 17 employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to 18 disclose the information for this litigation; 19 (b) three designated In-House Counsel per side to whom disclosure is 20 reasonably necessary for this litigation, and who have no involvement in 21 competitive decision-making, and who have been pre-approved by the Designating 22 Party; 23 (c) Experts of the Receiving Party (1) to whom disclosure is reasonably 24 necessary for this litigation, (2) who have signed the “Acknowledgment and 25 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), and (3) as to whom the procedures set forth in 26 paragraph 7.4(a), below, have been followed; as well as the Expert’s direct reports 27 and other support personnel to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this 28 litigation; 12 Case No. 2:22-cv-00866 AB (PDx) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:22-cv-00866-AB-PD Document 80 Filed 10/14/22 Page 14 of 23 Page ID #:1644
1 (d) the Court and its personnel, and mediators; 2 (e) court reporters and their staff; 3 (f) professional jury or trial consultants and Professional Vendors to whom 4 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation; 5 (g) mock jurors who have signed the “Acknowledgement and Agreement to 6 be Bound” (Exhibit A); 7 (h) 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 (i) during their depositions, witnesses in the Action to whom disclosure is 10 reasonably necessary and who have signed the “Acknowledgement and Agreement 11 to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), and any witnesses designated by the Designating Party 12 under Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(b)(6) as providing testimony to bind the corporation. Pages 13 of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected 14 Material must be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to 15 anyone except as permitted under this Protective Order. 16 7.4 Procedures for Approving or Objecting to Disclosure of “HIGHLY 17 CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” Information or Items to 18 Experts. 19 (a) Unless otherwise ordered by the Court or agreed to in writing by the 20 Designating Party, a Party that seeks to disclose to an Expert (as defined in this 21 Order) any information or item that has been designated “CONFIDENTIAL” or 22 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” must first must 23 make a written request to the Designating Party that (1) requests permission to 24 disclose to the Expert “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – 25 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” information, (2) sets forth the full name of the 26 Expert and the city and state of his or her primary residence, (3) attaches a copy of 27 the Expert’s current resume, (4) identifies the Expert’s current employer(s), (5) 28 identifies each person or entity from whom the Expert has received compensation or 13 Case No. 2:22-cv-00866 AB (PDx) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:22-cv-00866-AB-PD Document 80 Filed 10/14/22 Page 15 of 23 Page ID #:1645
1 funding for work in his or her areas of expertise or to whom the Expert has provided 2 professional services, including in connection with a litigation, at any time during 3 the preceding five years,2 and (6) identifies (by name and number of the case, filing 4 date, and location of court) any litigation in connection with which the Expert has 5 offered expert testimony, including through a declaration, report, or testimony at a 6 deposition or trial, during the preceding five years. 7 (b) A Party that makes a request and provides the information specified in the 8 preceding respective paragraphs may disclose the subject Protected Material to the 9 identified Expert unless, within 7 calendar days of delivering the request, the Party 10 receives a written objection from the Designating Party. Any such objection must 11 set forth in detail the grounds on which it is based. 12 (c) A Party that receives a timely written objection must meet and confer with 13 the Designating Party (through direct voice-to-voice dialogue) to try to resolve the 14 matter by agreement within five days of the written objection. If no agreement is 15 reached, the Party seeking to make the disclosure to the Expert may file a motion 16 seeking permission from the Court to do so. Any such motion must describe the 17 circumstances with specificity, set forth in detail the reasons why disclosure to the 18 Expert is reasonably necessary, assess the risk of harm that the disclosure would 19 entail, and suggest any additional means that could be used to reduce that risk. In 20 addition, any such motion must be accompanied by a competent declaration 21 describing the Parties’ efforts to resolve the matter by agreement (i.e., the extent and 22 the content of the meet and confer discussions) and setting forth the reasons 23 advanced by the Designating Party for its refusal to approve the disclosure. In any 24 such proceeding, the Party opposing disclosure to the Expert shall bear the burden of 25 2 If the Expert believes any of this information is subject to a confidentiality 26 obligation to a third-party, then the Expert should provide whatever information the 27 Expert believes can be disclosed without violating any confidentiality agreements, and the Party seeking to disclose to the Expert shall be available to meet and confer 28 with the Designating Party regarding any such engagement. 14 Case No. 2:22-cv-00866 AB (PDx) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:22-cv-00866-AB-PD Document 80 Filed 10/14/22 Page 16 of 23 Page ID #:1646
1 proving that the risk of harm that the disclosure would entail (under the safeguards 2 proposed) outweighs the Receiving Party’s need to disclose the Protected Material 3 to its Expert. 4 8. PROSECUTION BAR 5 Absent written consent from the Producing Party, any individual who receives 6 access to “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” 7 information shall not be involved in the prosecution of patents or patent applications 8 relating to the insertion or deletion of digital watermarks, including without 9 limitation
U.S. Patent No. 7,289,961(the “Patent-in-Suit”) or any patent or 10 application claiming priority to or otherwise related to the Patent-in-Suit, before any 11 foreign or domestic agency, including the United States Patent and Trademark 12 Office (“the Patent Office”). For purposes of this paragraph, “prosecution” includes 13 directly or indirectly drafting, amending, advising, or otherwise affecting the scope 14 or maintenance of patent claims (collectively, “Prohibited Patent Claim Related 15 Activities”). To avoid any doubt, “prosecution” as used in this paragraph does not 16 include representing a party challenging or defending a patent before a domestic or 17 foreign agency (including, but not limited to, a reissue protest, ex parte 18 reexamination, or inter partes review), so long as Prohibited Patent Claim Related 19 Activities are not performed. This Prosecution Bar shall begin when “HIGHLY 20 CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” information is first accessed by 21 the affected individual and shall end two (2) years after final termination of this 22 action. 23 9. SOURCE CODE 24 (a) [Intentionally left blank - the Parties anticipate entering into a separate 25 Source Code addendum to address the specifics relating to source code materials. 26 Accordingly, this provision is currently and intentionally left blank until such time 27 as a Source code Addendum is agreed to by the Parties and/or entered by this 28 Court]. 15 Case No. 2:22-cv-00866 AB (PDx) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:22-cv-00866-AB-PD Document 80 Filed 10/14/22 Page 17 of 23 Page ID #:1647
1 10. 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 – ATTORNEYS’ EYES 6 ONLY” that Party must: 7 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall 8 include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 9 (b) promptly notify in writing the Party who caused the subpoena or order to 10 issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena 11 or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of 12 this Protective Order; and 13 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued 14 by the Designating Party whose designated material may be affected.3 15 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with 16 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this 17 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ 18 EYES ONLY” before a determination by the Court from which the subpoena or 19 order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The 20 Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that 21 court of its confidential material – and nothing in these provisions should be 22 construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this action to disobey a 23 lawful directive from another court. 24 25
26 3 The purpose of imposing these duties is to alert the interested parties to the 27 existence of this Protective Order and to afford the Designating Party in this case an opportunity to try to protect its confidentiality interests in the Court from which the 28 subpoena or order issued. 16 Case No. 2:22-cv-00866 AB (PDx) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:22-cv-00866-AB-PD Document 80 Filed 10/14/22 Page 18 of 23 Page ID #:1648
1 11. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 2 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 3 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non- 4 Party in this action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY 5 CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” Such information produced by 6 Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief 7 provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as 8 prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 9 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to 10 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is 11 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s 12 confidential information, then the Party shall: 13 1. promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that 14 some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement 15 with a Non-Party; 16 2. promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Protective Order in 17 this litigation, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific 18 description of the information requested; and 19 3. make the information requested available for inspection by the Non- 20 Party. 21 (c) If the Non-Party fails to object or seek a protective order from this court 22 within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving 23 Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the 24 discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving 25 Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to 26 the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the 27 28 17 Case No. 2:22-cv-00866 AB (PDx) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:22-cv-00866-AB-PD Document 80 Filed 10/14/22 Page 19 of 23 Page ID #:1649
1 Court.4 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and 2 expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material. 3 12. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED 4 MATERIAL 5 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 6 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 7 Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the 8 Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve 9 all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to 10 whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) 11 request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to 12 Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 13 13. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR 14 OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL 15 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 16 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, 17 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 18 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). Furthermore, the production of privileged or work-product 19 protected documents, electronically stored information (“ESI”) or information, 20 whether inadvertent or otherwise, is not a waiver of the privilege or protection from 21 discovery in this case or in any other federal or state proceeding. For example, the 22 mere production of privilege or work-product-protected documents in this case as 23 part of a mass production is not itself a waiver. This Protective Order shall be 24 interpreted to provide the maximum protection allowed by Federal Rule of Evidence 25 502(d). 26
27 4 The purpose of this provision is to alert the interested parties to the existence of confidentiality rights of a Non-Party and to afford the Non-Party an opportunity to 28 protect its confidentiality interests in this court. 18 Case No. 2:22-cv-00866 AB (PDx) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:22-cv-00866-AB-PD Document 80 Filed 10/14/22 Page 20 of 23 Page ID #:1650
1 14. MISCELLANEOUS 2 14.1 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 14.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. No Party waives any right it 5 otherwise would have to object to disclosing or producing any information or item 6 on any ground not addressed in this Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any 7 right to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by 8 this Protective Order. 9 14.4 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 11 may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the 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 14 public record unless otherwise instructed by the court. 15 15. FINAL DISPOSITION 16 Within 60 days after the final disposition of this action each Receiving Party 17 must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. 18 As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, 19 compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the 20 Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the 21 Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if 22 not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that 23 (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was 24 returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any 25 copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or 26 capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are 27 entitled to retain two (2) archival copies of pleadings, motion papers, trial, 28 deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition 19 Case No. 2:22-cv-00866 AB (PDx) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:22-cv-00866-AB-PD Document 80 Filed 10/14/22 Page 21 of 23 Page ID #:1651
1 and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert 2 work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival 3 copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective 4 Order as set forth in Section 4. 5 IT IS SO STIPULATED, through Counsel of Record. 6 Dated: October 13, 2022 Dated: October 13, 2022
7 /s/ Mieke K. Malmberg /s/ Michael N. Rader Mieke K. Malmberg (SBN 209992) Peter S. Veregge (SBN 155769) 8 [email protected] [email protected] SKIERMONT DERBY LLP CISLO & THOMAS LLP 9 800 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1450 2829 Townsgate Road, Suite 330 Los Angeles, California 90017 Westlake Village, CA 91361 10 Telephone: (213) 788-4500 Phone: (805) 496-1164 Facsimile: (213) 788-4545 Fax: (805) 435-8446 11 Sarah E. Spires (SBN 252917) Michael N. Rader (pro hac vice) 12 [email protected] [email protected] Paul J. Skiermont (pro hac vice) WOLF, GREENFIELD & SACKS, P.C. 13 [email protected] 605 Third Avenue, 25th Floor Steven W. Hartsell (pro hac vice) New York, NY 10158 14 [email protected] Phone: 212-697-7890 Ryan A. Hargrave (pro hac vice) Fax: 617-646-8646 15 [email protected] Randy J. Pritzker (pro hac vice) Michael D. Ricketts (pro hac vice) [email protected] 16 [email protected] Charles T. Steenburg (pro hac vice) SKIERMONT DERBY LLP [email protected] 17 1601 Elm Street, Suite 4400 Alexandra K. Kim (pro hac vice) Dallas, Texas 75201 [email protected] 18 Telephone: (214) 978-6600 Jie Xiang (pro hac vice) Facsimile: (214) 978-6601 [email protected] 19 WOLF, GREENFIELD & SACKS, P.C. Attorneys for Plaintiff 600 Atlantic Avenue 20 MZ AUDIO SCIENCES, LLC Boston, MA 02210 Phone: 617.646.8000 21 Fax: 617-646-8646
22 Attorneys for Defendants SONY GROUP CORPORATION 23 (JAPAN), SONY CORPORATION OF AMERICA, SONY INTERACTIVE 24 ENTERTAINMENT LLC, SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT INC., 25 SONY ELECTRONICS INC.
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28 20 Case No. 2:22-cv-00866 AB (PDx) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2(22-cv-00866-AB-PD Document 80 Filed 10/14/22 Page 22 of 23 Page ID #:1652
1 || IT IS SO ORDERED that the foregoing Agreement is approved. DATED: October 14, 2022 4 Patricia Donahue 5 Palaces Lrgahoe_ 6 || United States Magistrate Judge 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 21 Case No. 2:22-cv-00866 AB (PDx) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
Case 2:22-cv-00866-AB-PD Document 80 Filed 10/14/22 Page 23 of 23 Page ID #:1653
1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3 I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], of 4 _________________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury 5 that I have read in its entirety and understand the Protective Order that was issued 6 by the United States District Court for the Central District of California on _______ 7 [date] in the case of MZ Audio Sciences, LLC v. Sony Group Corporation (Japan), 8 et al., 2:22-cv-00866 AB (PDx), I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the 9 terms of this Protective Order, and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so 10 comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I 11 solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that 12 is subject to this Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance 13 with the provisions of this Order. 14 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court 15 for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this 16 Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of 17 this action. 18 I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full name] of 19 _______________________________________ [print or type 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 Protective Order. 22 23 Date: ________________ Signature: ________________________________ [signature] 24
25 Printed name: ______________________________ [printed name] 26
27 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________ 28 22 Case No. 2:22-cv-00866 AB (PDx) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
Reference
- Status
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