DAVID O. CARTER, District Judge.
Disclosure and discovery activity in this action are likely to 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 hereby stipulate to 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 also acknowledge, as set forth in Section 14.4, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; rather, Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets 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.
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6
2.7
2.8
2.9
2.10
2.11
2.12
2.13
2.14
2.15
2.16
2.17
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 testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel that has been designated as Confidential that might reveal Protected Material. However, the protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order do not cover the following information: (a) 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; and (b) any information known to the Receiving Party prior to the disclosure or obtained by the Receiving Party after the disclosure from a source who obtained the information lawfully and under no obligation of confidentiality to the Designating Party.
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.
5.1
Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber or retard the case development process or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) expose the Designating Party to sanctions.
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
Material that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced.
Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
(a)
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 within 21 days (a) determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order, and (b) produce the specified documents with the appropriate legend ("CONFIDENTIAL" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — SOURCE CODE") affixed 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)
Parties shall give the other parties notice if they reasonably expect a deposition, hearing or other proceeding 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)
5.3
6.1
6.2
6.3
The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges and those made for an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived the confidentiality designation by failing to file a motion to retain confidentiality as described above, all parties shall continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing Party's designation until the court rules on the challenge.
If either party disagrees with the Special Master's decision, that party shall file and serve a motion as provided in Civil Local Rule 7 (and in compliance with Civil Local Rule 79-5, if applicable) to retain or modify/eliminate the confidentiality designation, within 10 days of issuance of the Special Master's decision.
7.1
Any use of Protected Material and PII at trial shall be addressed by the judicial officer conducting the proceeding at the appropriate time. However, PII is not to be included in any courtesy copy, filing, or pleading unless it is redacted or filed under seal.
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. A Receiving Party must implement and maintain reasonable physical, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect the security of Protected Information and Personally Identifiable Information from loss, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction.
7.2
(a) the Receiving Party's Outside Counsel of Record in this action, as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this litigation;
(b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) 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 and 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.
7.3
(a) the Receiving Party's Outside Counsel of Record in this action, as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this litigation;
(b) House Counsel of the Receiving Party (1) to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation, and (2) who has signed the "Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound" (Exhibit A). This Order contemplates that House Counsel shall not have access to any information designated "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — SOURCE CODE" with the exception of derivative materials such as exhibits to court filings, and expert reports, which House Counsel may access.
(c) Experts of the Receiving Party (1) to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation, (2) who have signed the "Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound" (Exhibit A), and (3) as to whom the procedures set forth in paragraph 7.4(a)(2), below, have been followed;
(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); and
(f) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information.
7.4
(a)(1) Unless otherwise ordered by the court or agreed to in writing by the Designating Party, a Party that seeks to disclose to House Counsel any information or item that has been designated "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" pursuant to paragraph 7.3(b) first must make a written request to the Designating Party that (1) sets forth the full name of the House Counsel and the city and state of his or her residence, and (2) describes the House Counsel's current and reasonably foreseeable future primary job duties and responsibilities with the Party in sufficient detail to determine if the House Counsel is involved, or may become involved, in any competitive decision-making.
(a)(2) "CONFIDENTIAL" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" information or items may be disclosed to an Expert without disclosure of the identity of the Expert as long as the Expert is not a current officer, director, or employee of a competitor of a Party or anticipated to become one.
(a)(3) Unless otherwise ordered by the court or agreed to in writing by the Designating Party, a Party that seeks to disclose to an Expert (as defined in this Order) any information or item that has been designated "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — SOURCE CODE" pursuant to paragraph 7.3(c) first must make a written request to the Designating Party that (1) identifies the general categories of "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — SOURCE CODE" information that the Receiving Party seeks permission to disclose to the Expert, (2) sets forth the full name of the Expert and the city and state of his or her primary residence, (3) attaches a copy of the Expert's current resume, including the Expert's current employer(s) and identifies all entities with whom the Expert has received compensation or funding for work in his or her areas of expertise or to whom the expert has provided professional services, including in connection with a litigation, during the preceding five years and (4) identifies (by name and number of the case, filing date, and location of court) any litigation in connection with which the Expert has offered expert testimony, including through a declaration, report, or testimony at a deposition or trial, during the preceding five years. If the Expert believes any of this information is subject to a confidentiality obligation to a third-party, then the Expert should provide whatever information the 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 with the Designating Party regarding any such engagement.
(b) A Party that makes a request and provides the information specified in the preceding respective paragraphs may disclose the subject Protected Material to the identified Expert unless, within 14 days of delivering the request, the Party receives a written objection from the Designating Party. Any such objection must set forth in detail the grounds on which it is based.
(c) A Party that receives a timely written objection must meet and confer with the Designating Party (through direct voice to voice dialogue) to try to resolve the matter by agreement within seven days of the written objection. If no agreement is reached, the Designating Party shall file a motion with the Special Master opposing disclosure to the Expert, in accordance with the procedures set forth in the Order Appointing Special Master. Any such motion must describe the circumstances with specificity, set forth in detail the reasons why the disclosure to the Expert is opposed. In addition, any such motion must be accompanied by a competent declaration describing the parties' efforts to resolve the matter by agreement (i.e., the extent and the content of the meet and confer discussions). Within five ten days of service of any such motion, the Receiving Party shall file and serve with the Special Master a response. And within three business days of service of any such response, the moving party may file and serve with the Special Master a reply.
In any such proceeding on such a Motion, the Party opposing disclosure to the Expert shall bear the burden of proving that the risk of harm that the disclosure would entail (under the safeguards proposed) outweighs the Receiving Party's need to disclose the Protected Material to its Expert.
If either party wishes to challenge the Special Master's decision, it may file a motion with this Court as provided in Civil Local Rule 7 (and in compliance with Civil Local Rule 79-5, if applicable), within 10 days of the issuance of the Special Master's decision.
8.1
Absent written consent from the Producing Party, any individual who receives access to "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — SOURCE CODE" information shall not be involved in the prosecution of patents or patent applications on behalf of a party relating to, without limitation, the technology embodied in the patents asserted in this action, and any patent or application claiming priority to or otherwise related to the patents asserted in this action, before any foreign or domestic agency, including the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("the Patent Office"). For purposes of this paragraph, "prosecution" includes directly or indirectly drafting, amending, advising, or otherwise affecting the scope or maintenance of patent claims. To avoid any doubt, "prosecution" as used in this paragraph does not include representing a party challenging or defending a patent before a domestic or foreign agency (including, but not limited to, a reissue protest, ex parte reexamination or inter partes reexamination). This Prosecution Bar shall begin when access to "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — SOURCE CODE" information is first received by the affected individual and shall end two (2) years after final termination of this action.
8.2
Victor Hardy may review Protected Material and participate in this case subject to the following additional restrictions: With respect to patents other than the patents in suit, Victor Hardy hereby agrees, on behalf of himself, as an individual as well as on behalf of any entity which he has the legal authority to bind (not including Hardy Parrish Yang LLP ("HPY"), that for a period of ten years from a final judgment in the District Court litigation or dismissal of the District Court litigation (whichever comes first), not to knowingly assert any existing or future issued patents that he has the legal right to control and/or holds any interest in and to, against any MindGeek entity in the fields of cataloguing multimedia data; management of multimedia assets; digital library systems; surveying systems and methods; and streaming media systems and methods. The term "MindGeek" entity refers to each:
For clients other than Preservation Technologies LLC and Preservation Technologies Archive LLC., and their parents, successors, Affiliates and/or assigns, nothing in this provision governs or applies to Victor Hardy or HPY acting as outside counsel for clients that Victor Hardy does not direct or control. Furthermore, nothing in this agreement shall in itself prevent Mr. Hardy or HPY from serving as outside counsel in the current case and any related IPR's. Mr. Hardy and HPY's activities as an outside lawyer are governed by the Litigation Bar set forth below.
Victor Hardy further agrees on behalf of himself as an individual as well as on behalf of any entity which he has the legal authority to bind that any material violation of this covenant will result in irreparable harm to the MindGeek entities.
Victor Hardy as an individual as well as on behalf of any entity which he has the legal authority to bind have a right to cure any violation of the above covenant for a period of seven business days from the receipt of written notice from the MindGeek entity that Preservation has sued a MindGeek entity, violated this covenant, and identifying that entity.
8.3
Bradley D. Liddle, or any attorney of the Hardy Parrish Yang LLP ("HPY") law firm, now or in the future, that reviews, obtains or otherwise accesses source code and/or Highly Confidential — AEO information as defined in the Protective Order shall not participate in the enforcement and/or prosecution of patents other than the patents in suit in the fields of cataloguing multimedia data; management of multimedia assets; digital library systems; surveying systems and methods; and streaming media systems and methods against the MindGeek entities for a period of three years from a final judgment in the District Court litigation and any appeal thereof or dismissal of the District Court litigation, whichever comes first. Nothing in the above provisions prevent Bradley D. Liddle or any HPY lawyer from representing a patent owner in defending a patent in a PTO proceeding including inter partes reexaminations and similar proceedings, nor from defending a party against a claim of patent infringement instituted by MindGeek and relating to the patents in suit.
(a) To the extent production of source code becomes necessary in this case, a Producing Party may designate such source code as "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — SOURCE CODE" if it comprises or includes confidential, proprietary or trade secret source code.
(b) Protected Material designated as "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — SOURCE CODE" shall be subject to all of the protections afforded to "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" information, and may be disclosed only to the individuals to whom "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — SOURCE CODE ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" information may be disclosed, as set forth in Paragraphs 7.3 and 7.4.
(c) Any source code produced in discovery shall be made available in accordance with the Order Regarding Source Code, which will be jointly submitted for approval to the Special Master, and submission to the Court for entry. The Special Master shall adjudicate conflicting provisions of the Source Code Order, if any, before submitting it to the Court for entry.
If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in another litigation that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this action as "CONFIDENTIAL" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — SOURCE CODE" 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" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — SOURCE CODE" before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party's permission. 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" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — SOURCE CODE". 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:
(c) If the Non-Party fails to object or seek a protective order from this court within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may produce the Non-Party's confidential information responsive to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, 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.
When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted to the court.
14.1
14.2
14.3
14.4
14.5
Within 60 days after the final disposition of this action, as defined in Section 4 (DURATION), 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 (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed and (2) 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).
IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
PURSUANT TO STIPULATION, IT IS SO ORDERED.
I, __________________________________ [full name], of _____________________________________________________ [full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California on [date] in the case of Preservation Technologies LLC v. MindGeek USA, et al., Case No. 2:17-CV-08906-DOC-JPR. 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.