JACQUELINE CHOOLJIAN, Magistrate Judge.
Disclosure and discovery activity in this action may involve production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the Parties, by and among their respective counsel, stipulate to the terms set forth herein and petition the court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The Parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. The Parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 and the Court's Pilot Program for Filing Documents Under Seal set forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.
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The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected
Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any deposition testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel (other than in open court proceedings, e.g., hearings, trial) that might reveal Protected Material. However, the protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order do not cover any information that is in the public domain at the time of disclosure to a Receiving Party or becomes part of the public domain after its disclosure to a Receiving Party as a result of publication not involving a violation of this Order, including becoming part of the public record through trial or otherwise.
Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court order otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this action, including the time limits for filing any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to applicable law.
A Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. To the extent it is practical to do so, the Designating Party must designate for protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that qualify — so that other portions of the material, documents, items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. If it comes to a Designating Party's attention that information or items that it designated for protection do not qualify for protection at all or do not qualify for the level of protection initially asserted, that Designating Party must promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the mistaken designation.
5.2
Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
(a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents (including, without limitation, tiff files, native files, and other electronically produced data), but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the Producing Party affix the legend "CONFIDENTIAL" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" to each page that contains protected material and/or in the case of documents produced in "native" format or in another electronic format in which each page cannot be marked, include "CONFIDENTIAL" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY," in the file name of each such file. However, each page of any print out or other replication of such electronic document that is reasonably capable of bearing a legend on individual pages must be affixed with the legend "CONFIDENTIAL" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY." If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins and/or in the case of documents produced in "native" format or in another electronic format in which each page cannot be marked, by specifying in a separate document) and must specify, for each portion, the level of protection being asserted.
A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents or materials available for inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which material it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY." After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the appropriate legend ("CONFIDENTIAL" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY") to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins) and must specify, for each portion, the level of protection being asserted.
(b) for testimony given in deposition, that the Designating Party identify those portions of the testimony that are appropriately designated for protection either on the record or within 21 days after the testimony is provided. Alternatively, if warranted by the nature of the testimony, a Designating Party may specify, at the deposition or up to 21 days afterwards, that the entire transcript shall be treated as "CONFIDENTIAL" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY."
Parties shall give the other parties notice if they reasonably expect a deposition to include Protected Material so that the other parties can ensure that only authorized individuals who have signed the "Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound" (Exhibit A) are present at those proceedings. The use of a document as an exhibit at a deposition shall not in any way affect its designation as "CONFIDENTIAL" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY."
Transcripts containing Protected Material shall have an obvious legend on the title page that the transcript contains Protected Material, and the title page shall be followed by a list of all pages (including line numbers as appropriate) that have been designated as Protected Material and the level of protection being asserted by the Designating Party. The Designating Party shall inform the court reporter of these requirements. Any transcript that is prepared before the expiration of a 21-day period for designation shall be treated during that period as if it had been designated "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" in its entirety unless otherwise agreed. After the expiration of that period, the transcript shall be treated only as actually designated.
(c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the exterior of the container or containers in which the information or item is stored the legend "CONFIDENTIAL" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY." If only a portion or portions of the information or item warrant protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s) and specify the level of protection being asserted.
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The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the Designating Party. While a motion is pending, all parties shall continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Designating Party's designation until the court rules on the challenge.
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Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons authorized under this Order.
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(a) the Receiving Party's Outside Counsel in this action, as well as employees of said Outside Counsel;
(b) the officers, directors, and employees of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation and who have signed the "Acknowledgment and Agreement to be Bound" (Exhibit A);
(c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation and who have signed the "Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound" (Exhibit A);
(d) the court and its personnel;
(e) court reporters and their staff, professional jury or trial consultants, and Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation and who have signed the "Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound" (Exhibit A);
(f) during their depositions, witnesses in the action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary who have signed the "Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound" (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material must be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order.
(g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information so long as they have signed the "Acknowledgement and Agreement to Be Bound" that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
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(a) the Receiving Party's Outside Counsel in this action, as well as employees of said Outside Counsel to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this litigation and who have signed the "Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound" that is attached hereto at Exhibit A. (For avoidance of doubt, word processors, messengers, secretarial personnel, litigation and technical support, IT personnel, mail room personnel, and the like, who are not assigned to this matter but nonetheless may have infrequent and irregular contact with certain confidential materials in some form, are not each required to sign "Exhibit A");
(b) Experts of the Receiving Party (1) to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation, (2) and who have signed the "Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound" (Exhibit A);
(c) the court and its personnel;
(d) court reporters and their staff, professional jury or trial consultants, and Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation and who have signed the "Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound" (Exhibit A); and
If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this action as "CONFIDENTIAL" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" that party must:
(a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
(b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
(c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as "CONFIDENTIAL" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party's permission or unless otherwise required by law or court order. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court of its confidential material — and nothing in these provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this action to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
(a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-Party in this action and designated as "CONFIDENTIAL" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY." Such information produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
(b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to produce a Non-Party's confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party's confidential information, then the Party shall:
1. notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement with a Non-Party;
2. promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated Protective Order in this litigation, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific description of the information requested; and
3. make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-Party.
(c) If, within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Non-Party fails to object, to seek a protective order from this court, or, where applicable, to commence the Local Rule 37-1, et seq. procedure called for by Local Rule 45-1, the Receiving Party may produce the Non-Party's confidential information responsive to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely objects, seeks a protective order, or, where applicable, commences the Local Rule 37-1, et seq. procedure called for by Local Rule 45-1, the Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.
If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the "Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound" that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
In the event of an inadvertent disclosure of allegedly privileged or otherwise protected information, the Disclosing Party may provide notice in writing to the Receiving Party or Parties advising of the inadvertent disclosure, requesting return or destruction of the allegedly privileged or otherwise protected information, and asserting the basis of the request. Upon such notice, the Receiving Party or Parties shall make no further use of the allegedly privileged or otherwise protected information, shall immediately segregate the information in a manner that will prevent any further disclosure or dissemination, and shall take reasonable steps to retrieve the information to the extent it was disclosed or disseminated prior to receipt of the notice. Within ten (10) calendar days of receiving the notice of inadvertent disclosure, the Receiving Party shall return all allegedly privileged or otherwise protected information in its possession, custody, or control, or shall provide written confirmation that all such information has been destroyed. Within twenty (20) days of providing the notice of inadvertent disclosure, or as otherwise agreed, the Disclosing Party shall provide the Receiving Party or Parties with a privilege log identifying the allegedly privileged information that was inadvertently disclosed and the asserted grounds for privilege, or, in the case of inadvertent disclosure of otherwise protected information, shall provide a statement of the grounds for protection. Nothing in this paragraph shall prevent a Party that has returned or destroyed inadvertently produced material pursuant to this paragraph from bringing a motion to compel production of such material after receiving a privilege log or other statement of the grounds for protection.
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Within 60 days after the final disposition of this action, as defined in Section 4, each Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this subdivision, "all Protected Material" includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60-day deadline that affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION).
I, ___________________________, certify and declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California on [date] in the case of COOPER INTERCONNECT, INC. v. GLENAIR, INC. ET AL., Case No. CV14-08018 RGK (JCx). I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order.
I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action.
I acknowledge that I am to treat all copies of any of the materials that I receive that have been designated as "CONFIDENTIAL" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" in a manner consistent with this Order, and that all such copies are to be returned or destroyed as specified in this Order on the termination of this litigation or the completion of my duties in connection with this litigation.