# Opinion

> District Court, C.D. California · February 13, 2026

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/11364180

## Case

- **Full name:** Famous Birthdays, LLC v. Passes, Inc. and Lucy Guo
- **Court:** District Court, C.D. California
- **Decided:** February 13, 2026
- **Opinion:** 100trialcourt
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

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## Opinion text

1 Christopher Beatty (State Bar No. 266466)
2 chris.beatty@katten.com
Murad Salim (State Bar No. 342747)
3 murad.salim@katten.com
4 KATTEN MUCHIN ROSENMAN LLP
2121 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 1100
5 Los Angeles, CA 90067-5010
6 Telephone: (310) 788-4400
Facsimile: (310) 788-4471
7
Attorneys for Plaintiff Famous Birthdays, LLC
8
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, WESTERN DIVISION
10

11 FAMOUS BIRTHDAYS, LLC, a
California limited liability Case No. 2:24-cv-08364-CBM-
12 company,
SSC
13 Plaintiff,

14 v. STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
ORDER
15 PASSES, INC., a Delaware
corporation; and LUCY GUO, an
16 individual, Assigned to Judge Consuelo B. Marshall,
Magistrate Judge Stephanie S. Christensen
17 Defendants.

18
19 1. INTRODUCTION
20 1.1 Purposes and Limitations. Discovery in this action is likely to
21 involve production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for
22 which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any
23 purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted.
24 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the court to enter
25 the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that
26 this Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or
27 responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public
1 are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal
2 principles.
3 1.2 Good Cause Statement.
4 This action involves claims for alleged copyright infringement,
5 computer fraud, unfair competition, and breach of contract, and is likely
6 to involve confidential customer and user information and other valuable
7 research, development, commercial, financial, technical and/or
8 proprietary information for which special protection from public disclosure
9 and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is
10 warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information
11 may consist of, among other things, confidential business or financial
12 information, related to the development, marketing, and or/display of
13 copyrighted biographies, information regarding confidential business
14 practices and agreements, or other confidential research, development, or
15 commercial information (including information implicating the privacy
16 rights of third parties), or information otherwise generally unavailable to
17 the public. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate
18 the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery
19 materials, to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to
20 keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable
21 necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of
22 trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the
23 ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this
24 matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be
25 designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so
26 designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a
27 confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not
1 1.3 Acknowledgment of Procedure for Filing Under Seal. The
2 parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this
3 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential
4 information under seal; Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that
5 must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party
6 seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.
7 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access
8 to judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-
9 dispositive motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing under
10 seal. See Kamakana v. City and Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176
11 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips ex rel. Ests. of Byrd v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307
12 F.3d 1206, 1210–11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony Elecs., Inc.,
13 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders
14 require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or
15 compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal
16 justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material that a
17 party seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere designation of Disclosure
18 or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not—without the
19 submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the
20 material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged,
21 or otherwise protectable—constitute good cause.
22 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion
23 or trial, then compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must
24 be shown, and the relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the
25 specific interest to be protected. See Pintos v. Pac. Creditors Ass’n, 605
26 F.3d 665, 677–79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item or type of information,
27 document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under seal in
1 must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal
2 justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence
3 supporting the application to file documents under seal must be provided
4 by declaration.
5 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise
6 protectable in its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential
7 portions can be redacted. If documents can be redacted, then a redacted
8 version for public viewing, omitting only the confidential, privileged, or
9 otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall be filed. Any
10 application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety
11 should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.
12 i. DEFINITIONS
13 i.1 Action: This pending federal lawsuit, Famous Birthdays, LLC
14 v. Passes, Inc., et al., Case No. 2:24-cv-08364 in the U.S. District Court for
15 the Central District of California.
16 i.2 Challenging Party: A Party or Non-Party that challenges the
17 designation of information or items under this Order.
18 i.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: Information
19 (regardless of how it is generated, stored, or maintained) or tangible things
20 that qualify for protection under Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil
21 Procedure, and as specified above in the Good Cause Statement.
22 i.4 “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” Information or Items:
23 Commercially sensitive CONFIDENTIAL Information or Items,
24 disclosure of which would create a substantial risk of serious commercial,
25 strategic, business, or competitive harm that the Designating Party
26 reasonably believes could not be avoided by less restrictive means.
27 i.5 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and In-House Counsel (as
1 i.6 Designating Party: A Party or Non-Party that designates
2 information or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to
3 discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.”
4 i.7 Disclosure or Discovery Material: All items or information,
5 regardless of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or
6 maintained (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and
7 tangible things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or
8 responses to discovery in this matter.
9 i.8 Expert: A person with specialized knowledge or experience in
10 a matter pertinent to the litigation, including any support staff, associates,
11 or analysts working with or under the supervision of the Expert, who has
12 been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an expert witness or as
13 a consultant in this Action. Nothing in this Protective Order purports to
14 alter in any way the requirements for offering testimony under Fed. R.
15 Evid. 703, or to define the term “expert” for purposes other than those
16 addressed in this Protective Order.
17 i.9 Final Disposition: The later of (1) dismissal of all claims and
18 defenses in this Action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment
19 herein after the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings,
20 remands, trials, or reviews of this Action, including the time limits for
21 filing any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to
22 applicable law.
23 i.10 In-House Counsel: Attorneys who are employees of a party to
24 this Action. In-House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record
25 or any other outside counsel.
26 i.11 Non-Party: Any natural person, partnership, corporation,
27 association, or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
1 of a party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to
2 this Action and have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are
3 affiliated with a law firm which has appeared on behalf of that party, and
4 includes support staff.
5 i.13 Party: Any party to this Action, including all of its officers,
6 directors, employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel
7 of Record (and their support staffs).
8 i.14 Producing Party: A Party or Non-Party that produces
9 Disclosure or Discovery Material in this Action.
10 i.15 Professional Vendors: Persons or entities that provide
11 litigation- support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating,
12 preparing exhibits or demonstrations, and organizing, storing, producing,
13 or retrieving data in any form or medium) and their employees and
14 subcontractors.
15 i.16 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that
16 is designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.”
17 i.17 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery
18 Material from a Producing Party.
19 ii. SCOPE
20 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not
21 only Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information
22 copied or extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts,
23 summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony,
24 conversations, or presentations by Parties or Non-Parties or their
25 Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
26 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the
27 orders of the trial judge. This Stipulated Protective Order does not
1 iii. TRIAL AND DURATION
2 The terms of this Stipulated Protective Order apply through Final
3 Disposition of the Action.
4 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as
5 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this Stipulated Protective
6 Order and used or introduced as an exhibit at trial becomes public and
7 will be presumptively available to all members of the public, including
8 the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual
9 findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of
10 the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180–81 (distinguishing “good
11 cause” showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from
12 “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents are part
13 of court record). Accordingly, for such materials, the terms of this
14 Stipulated Protective Order do not extend beyond the commencement of
15 the trial.
16 Even after Final Disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality
17 obligations imposed by this Stipulated Protective Order shall remain in
18 effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court
19 order otherwise directs.
20 iv. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
21 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for
22 Protection. Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items
23 for protection under this Order must take care to limit any such
24 designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate
25 standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection only
26 those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written
27 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material,
1 warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
2 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited.
3 Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been
4 made for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case
5 development process or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on
6 other parties) may expose the Designating Party to sanctions.
7 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or
8 items that it designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that
9 Designating Party must promptly notify all other Parties that it is
10 withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
11 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise
12 provided in this Stipulated Protective Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of
13 section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or
14 Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Stipulated
15 Protective Order must be clearly so designated before the material is
16 disclosed or produced.
17 Designation in conformity with this Stipulated Protective Order
18 requires:
19 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
20 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or
21 trial proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the
22 legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” to each page
23 that contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the
24 material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must
25 clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate
26 markings in the margins).
27 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for
1 inspecting Party has indicated which documents it would like copied and
2 produced. During the inspection and before the designation, all of the
3 material made available for inspection shall be deemed
4 CONFIDENTIAL. After the inspecting Party has identified the
5 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must
6 determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection
7 under this Stipulated Protective Order. Then, before producing the
8 specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the
9 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” legend to each page
10 that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the
11 material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must
12 clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate
13 markings in the margins).
14 (b) For testimony given in depositions where there was no
15 designation of CONFIDENTIAL or ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY
16 information made on the record, the transcript of any deposition (whether
17 for discovery or testimony purposes) and all exhibits or attachments shall,
18 for 14 days following the date of service of the transcript by the Party that
19 took the deposition, be considered “CONFIDENTIAL.” If an
20 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY designation of testimony was made on the
21 record during the deposition, then the transcript of the deposition
22 (whether for discovery or testimony purposes) and all exhibits previously
23 designated “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” shall, for 14 days following the
24 date of service of the transcript by the Party that took the deposition, be
25 considered “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” During that 14-day period, any
26 Party or Producing Party may designate the portions of the transcript,
27 and any specific exhibits or attachments that are to be treated as
1 Parties of such designations in writing. Appropriate stampings or
2 markings should be made during this time, if not already done so. If no
3 such designations are made, then the entire transcript and exhibits will
4 be considered unprotected after the expiration of the 14-day period,
5 subject to the other provisions of this Order.
6 (c) For information produced in some form other than documents
7 and testimony and for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party
8 affix in a prominent place on the exterior of the container or containers in
9 which the information is stored the “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEYS’
10 EYES ONLY” legend. If only a portion or portions of the information
11 warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall
12 identify the protected portion(s).
13 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an
14 inadvertent failure to designate qualified information or items does not,
15 standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s right to secure protection
16 under this Order for such material. Upon timely correction of a
17 designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure
18 that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this
19 Stipulated Protective Order.
20 v. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
21 v.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge
22 a designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the
23 court’s Scheduling Order.
24 v.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the
25 dispute resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq. and with Section
26 2 of Judge Christensen’s Civil Procedures titled “Brief Pre-Discovery
27
1 Motion Conference.”1
2 v.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding
3 shall be on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made
4 for an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses
5 and burdens on other parties) may expose the Challenging Party to
6 sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or withdrawn the
7 confidentiality designation, all Parties shall continue to afford the
8 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under
9 the Producing Party’s designation until the court rules on the challenge.
10 vi. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
11 vi.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected
12 Material that is disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party
13 in connection with this Action only for prosecuting, defending, or
14 attempting to settle this Action. Such Protected Material may be
15 disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the conditions
16 described in this Order. When the Action reaches a Final Disposition, a
17 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below.
18 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving
19 Party at a location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is
20 limited to the persons authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order.
21 vi.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items.
22 Unless otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the
23 Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or
24 item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only:
25 (a) to the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this
26

27
1 Judge Christensen’s Procedures are available at
1 Action, as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom
2 it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
3 (b) to the officers, directors, and employees (including In-House
4 Counsel) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably
5 necessary for this Action;
6 (c) to Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to
7 whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
8 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
9 (d) to the court and its personnel;
10 (e) to court reporters and their staff;
11 (f) to professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and
12 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this
13 Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be
14 Bound” (Exhibit A);
15 (g) to the author or recipient of a document containing the
16 information or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or
17 knew the information;
18 (h) during their depositions, to witnesses, and attorneys for
19 witnesses, in the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary,
20 provided: (1) the deposing party requests that the witness sign the
21 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); and (2) the
22 witness will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless
23 they sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A),
24 unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court.
25 Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that
26 reveal Protected Material may be separately bound by the court reporter
27 and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this
1 (i) to any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting
2 personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in
3 settlement discussions.
4 vi.3 Disclosure of “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” Information or
5 Items. Unless otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by
6 the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information
7 or item designated “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” only to:
8 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action,
9 as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is
10 reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
11 (b) the Receiving Party’s In-House General Counsel (but not any
12 other employees or personnel of the Receiving Party, including the In-
13 House General Counsel’s staff and other support);
14 (c) outside experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving
15 Party that have been retained to either provide consulting or testifying
16 expert services for purposes of this Action, to whom disclosure is
17 reasonably necessary for this Action, and for whom the following
18 procedures have been followed:
19 i. Before an Expert may receive “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”
20 information, the party retaining the Expert must serve on all
21 other parties a completed and signed “Acknowledgment and
22 Agreement to Be Bound” form (Exhibit A).
23 ii. Counsel who retained the Expert must forward a copy of the
24 executed undertaking to counsel for the producing party at
25 least five (5) business days prior to the proposed disclosure of
26 “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” information to such Expert,
27 along with a copy of that Expert’s up-to-date resume or
1 and the city and state of his or her primary residence, (2)
2 identifies the Expert’s current employer(s), and (3) identifies
3 any consulting or other relationship to the parties in this
4 litigation within the last five (5) years, and (4) identifies each
5 person or entity from whom the Expert has received
6 compensation or funding for work in his or her areas of
7 expertise or to whom the expert has provided professional
8 services, including in connection with a litigation, at any time
9 during the preceding five years.
10 iii. If the Designating Party objects in writing to the proposed
11 disclosure within five (5) business days after receipt of notice,
12 the disclosure may not be made without separate agreement
13 by the parties or prior approval by the Court. Any such
14 objection must set forth in detail the grounds on which it is
15 based.
16 iv. A Party that receives a timely written objection must meet
17 and confer with the Designating Party (through direct voice to
18 voice dialogue) to try to resolve the matter by agreement
19 within seven days of the written objection. If no agreement is
20 reached, the Party seeking to make the disclosure to the
21 Expert may initiate the dispute resolution process under Local
22 Rule 37.1 et seq. and with Section 2 of Judge Christensen’s
23 Civil Procedures titled “Brief Pre-Discovery Motion
24 Conference.”
25 v. In any such proceeding, the Party opposing disclosure to the
26 Expert shall bear the burden of proving that the risk of harm
27 that the disclosure would entail (under the safeguards
1 Protected Material to its Expert.
2 vi. “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” information may be disclosed to
3 the Expert after the time allowing for filing the dispute with
4 the Court has passed.
5 (d) the court and its personnel.
6 (e) court reporters and their staff;
7 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and
8 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this
9 Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be
10 Bound” (Exhibit A);
11 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the
12 information or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or
13 knew the information; and
14 (h) any other person with the prior written consent of the
15 Designating Party or by order of this Court who has signed the
16 “Acknowledgement and Declaration to be Bound” (Exhibit A).
17 vii. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
18 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION
19 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other
20 litigation that compels disclosure of any information or items designated
21 in this Action as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” that
22 Party must:
23 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such
24 notification shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
25 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena
26 or order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material
27 covered by the subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such
1 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to
2 be pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be
3 affected.
4 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the
5 Party served with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any
6 information designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” or
7 “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” before a determination by the court from
8 which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the
9 Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party shall bear the
10 burden and expense of seeking protection in that court of its confidential
11 material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as
12 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a
13 lawful directive from another court.
14 viii. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
15 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
16 9.1 Application. The terms of this Stipulated Protective Order are
17 applicable to information produced by a Non-Party in this Action and
18 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” Such
19 information produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is
20 protected by the remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in
21 these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from
22 seeking additional protections.
23 9.2 Notification. In the event that a Party is required, by a valid
24 discovery request, to produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its
25 possession, and the Party is subject to an agreement with the Non-Party
26 not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential information, then the Party
27 shall:
1 Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a
2 confidentiality agreement with a Non-Party;
3 (b) make the information requested available for inspection by
4 the Non-Party, if requested.
5 9.3 Conditions of Production. If the Non-Party fails to seek a
6 protective order from this court within 14 days of receiving the notice and
7 accompanying information, the Receiving Party may produce the Non-
8 Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request. If the
9 Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not
10 produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the
11 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by
12 the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear
13 the burden and expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected
14 Material.
15 ix. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED
16 MATERIAL
17 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it
18 has disclosed Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not
19 authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party
20 must immediately (a) notify in writing the Designating Party of the
21 unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all
22 unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or
23 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of
24 this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the
25 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A).
26 x. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR
27 OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL
1 certain inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege
2 or other protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set
3 forth in Rule 26(b)(5)(B) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. This
4 provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be
5 established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without
6 prior privilege review. Pursuant to Rules 502(d) and (e) of the Federal
7 Rules of Evidence, neither the attorney-client privilege nor work product
8 protection is waived, in this or any subsequent state or federal
9 proceeding, by inadvertent or mistaken disclosure of documents,
10 information, or ESI in this Action, regardless of the circumstances of
11 disclosure. This Order shall be interpreted to provide the maximum
12 protection allowed by Rule 502(d) of the Federal Rules of Evidence.
13 xi. MISCELLANEOUS
14 xi.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Stipulated Protective
15 Order abridges the right of any person to seek its modification by the
16 court in the future.
17 xi.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry
18 of this Stipulated Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise
19 would have to object to disclosing or producing any information or item
20 on any ground not addressed in this Stipulated Protective Order.
21 Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any ground to use in
22 evidence of any of the material covered by this Stipulated Protective
23 Order.
24 xi.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under
25 seal any Protected Material must comply with Local Rule 79-5. Protected
26 Material may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order
27 authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected Material at issue. If a
1 court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public
2 record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
3 xii. FINAL DISPOSITION
4 After the Final Disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph
5 4, within 60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each
6 Receiving Party must destroy all Protected Material. As used in this
7 subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts,
8 compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing
9 any of the Protected Material. After the Protected Material is destroyed,
10 the Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing
11 Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by
12 the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate)
13 all the Protected Material that was destroyed and (2) affirms that the
14 Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations,
15 summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the
16 Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel is entitled
17 to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial,
18 deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence,
19 deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and
20 consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain
21 Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute
22 Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in
23 Section 4.
24 xiii. VIOLATION
25 Any violation of this Stipulated Protective Order may be punished
26 by any and all appropriate measures including, without limitation,
27 contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.
1 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
M4
3 DATED: February 12, 2026
4 Murad Salim
5 Katten Muchin Rosenman, LLP
Attorney for Plaintiff Famous
6 Birthdays, LLC
7
8
9
0 DATED: February 12, 2026 /s/David Shukan
David Shukan
Valle Makoff LLP
12 Attorneys for Defendants
13
4 Pursuant to Local Rule 5-4.3.4(a)(2)(i), I, Murad Salim, hereby attest that all
15 signatories on whose behalf this filing is submitted concur in the filing’s content and
16 have authorized the filing.
M2
18 DATED: February 12, 2026 SO
19 Murad Salim
20
FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
22
February 13, 2026 Z- ~
24 STEPHANIE 8S. CHRISTENSEN
05 United States Magistrate Judge
26
27
28

1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3 I, ________________________ [print or type full name], of
4 ________________________________________ [print or type full
5 address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its
6 entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was
7 issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of
8 California on ________________[date] in the case of Famous Birthdays,
9 LLC. v. Passes, Inc., et al., Case No. 2:24-cv-08364. I agree to comply
10 with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order
11 and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could
12 expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt.
13 I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any
14 information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order
15 to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of
16 this Order. I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United
17 States District Court for the Central District of California for the
18 purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, even
19 if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action.
20 I hereby appoint ________________________ [print or type full
21 name] of ___________________________________________________
22 [print or type full address and telephone number] as my California
23 agent for service of process in connection with this action or any
24 proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order.
25 //
26 //
27 //
1 Date: ___________________________
2 City and State where sworn and
___________________________
3 signed:
4 Printed name: ___________________________
5 Signature: ___________________________
6

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/11364180. Public record. Not legal advice.