Opinion

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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11 454 CREATIVE CORP, Case No.: 8:25−cv−02546−MRA−DFM

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Plaintiff, The Honorable Mónica Ramírez Almadani

13 Courtroom 9B

v.

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Magistrate Judge Douglas F. McCormick

15 LEAN MARKETING GROUP LLC ,

et al.,

16 PROTECTIVE ORDER

17 Defendants.

Action Filed: Nov. 13, 2025

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19 Final Pre-Trial

Conference Date: March 22, 2027

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1 [PROPOSED] PROTECTIVE ORDER UNDER

2 FEDERAL RULE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE 26(c)

3 Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), the parties to this Action

4 (“Parties”), through undersigned counsel, jointly submit this Stipulated Protective

5 Order (“Order”) to govern the handling of information and materials produced in

6 the course of discovery or filed with the Court in this Action.

7 A. PURPOSES OF LIMITATIONS

8 Discovery in this Action is likely to involve production of confidential,

9 proprietary, or privileged information for which special protection from public

10 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may

11 be warranted. Accordingly, to facilitate the exchange of documents and

12 information, which is likely to involve the production of confidential, proprietary,

13 or private information, the following provisions of this Order shall govern

14 disclosure and use by the Parties of all documents, testimony, exhibits,

15 interrogatory answers, responses to requests for admission, and any other materials

16 and information disclosed or provided in this Action.

17 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT

18 This Action is likely to involve trade secrets, customer and pricing lists, and

19 other valuable research, development, commercial, financial, technical and/or

20 proprietary information for which special protection from public disclosure and

21 from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this Action is warranted. Such

22 confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, among other

23 things, confidential business or financial information, information regarding

24 confidential business practices, or other confidential research, development, or

25 commercial information (including information implicating privacy rights of third

26 parties), information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be

27 privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes,

28 court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of

1 information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of

2 discovery materials, to adequately protect information the Parties are entitled to

3 keep confidential, to ensure that the Parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses

4 of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their

5 handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order

6 for such information is justified in this Action. It is the intent of the Parties that

7 information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that

8 nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a

9 confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part

10 of the public record of this case.

11 C. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER

12 SEAL

13 The Parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 10.2. below, that this

14 Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal. Local Civil

15 Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will

16 be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.

17 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial

18 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions,

19 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and

20 County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen. Motors

21 Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics,

22 Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders require

23 good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or compelling reasons

24 with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be made with respect to

25 Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal.

26 Further, if a party to this Action requests sealing related to a dispositive motion

27 or trial, then compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown,

28 and the relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be

1 protected. See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir.

2 2010). The Parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as

3 CONFIDENTIAL does not—without the submission of competent evidence by

4 declaration, establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as

5 confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute good cause. For each

6 item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under

7 seal in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking protection must

8 articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for

9 the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting the application

10 to file documents under seal must be provided by declaration.

11 The Parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections

12 on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from

13 public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are

14 entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles and the

15 provisions of this Order. Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or

16 otherwise protectable in its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential

17 portions can be redacted. If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for

18 public viewing, omitting only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable

19 portions of the document, shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file

20 documents under seal in their entirety should include an explanation of why

21 redaction is not feasible.

22 1. DEFINITIONS

23 The following capitalized words, as used in this Order, shall be given the

24 meaning attributed to them as follows:

25 1.1. Action: this pending federal lawsuit, 454 Creative Corp. v. Lean

26 Marketing Group LLC, et al., Central District of California Case No.

27 8:25−cv−02546−MRA−DFM.

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1 1.2. Challenging Party: A Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation

2 of information or items under this Order.

3 1.3. “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of

4 how it is generated, stored, or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for

5 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the

6 Good Cause Statement.

7 1.4. “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”

8 Information or Items: extremely sensitive “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items,

9 the disclosure of which to another Party or Non-Party would create a substantial risk

10 of serious harm that could not be avoided by less restrictive means.

11 1.5. Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as

12 their support staff).

13 1.6. Designating Party: A Party or Non-Party that designates information or

14 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as

15 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL -- ATTORNEYS’ EYES

16 ONLY.”

17 1.7. Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless

18 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,

19 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or

20 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this Action.

21 1.8. Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter

22 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as

23 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.

24 1.9. House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a Party to this Action.

25 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside

26 counsel.

27 1.10. Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or

28 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.

1 1.11. Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a Party

2 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a Party to this Action and have

3 appeared in this Action on behalf of that Party or are affiliated with a law firm which

4 has appeared on behalf of that Party and includes support staff.

5 1.12. Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,

6 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their

7 support staff).

8 1.13. Producing Party: A Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or

9 Discovery Material in this Action.

10 1.14. Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support

11 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or

12 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)

13 and their employees and subcontractors.

14 1.15. Designated Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is

15 labeled, marked, denoted, or otherwise designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or

16 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.”

17 1.16. Receiving Party: A Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material

18 from a Producing Party.

19 2. SCOPE

20 Any use of Designated Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the

21 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Designated Material at trial. The

22 protections conferred by this Order cover not only Designated Material (as defined

23 above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Designated Material;

24 (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Designated Material; and (3)

25 any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel that

26 might reveal Designated Material.

27 3. DURATION

28 FINAL DISPOSITION of the action is defined as the conclusion of any

1 appellate proceedings, or, if no appeal is taken, when the time for filing of an appeal

2 has run. Except as set forth below, the terms of this Order apply through the FINAL

3 DISPOSITION of this Action. The Parties may stipulate that they will be

4 contractually bound by the terms of this Order beyond FINAL DISPOSITION but

5 will have to file a separate action for enforcement of this Order once all proceedings

6 in this Action are complete. Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was

7 designated as CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this Order used or

8 introduced as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available

9 to all members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons

10 supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge

11 in advance of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good

12 cause” showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling

13 reasons” standard when merits-related documents are part of court record).

14 Accordingly, for such materials, the terms of this Order do not extend beyond the

15 commencement of the trial.

16 4. DESIGNATION

17 4.1. Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.

18 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under

19 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that

20 qualifies under the appropriate standards.

21 4.2. Precise Designation of Eligible Protected Content. The Designating

22 Party must designate for protection only those parts of material, documents, items,

23 or oral or written communications that qualify so that other portions of the material,

24 documents, items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not

25 swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.

26 4.3. Restrictions on Mass or Improper Designations. Mass, indiscriminate,

27 or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that are shown to be clearly

28 unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily

1 encumber the case development process or to impose unnecessary expenses and

2 burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party to sanctions.

3 4.4. Withdrawal of Incorrectly Designated Protected Information. If it

4 comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it designated

5 for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must promptly

6 notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.

7 4.5. Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in

8 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of Section 4.7.2 below), or as otherwise

9 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection

10 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or

11 produced.

12 4.6. Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent

13 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive

14 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.

15 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable

16 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this

17 Order.

18 4.7. Proper Designation. The Parties must properly designate the material

19 or information they intend to protect.

20 4.7.1. For information in documentary form (e.g., paper, or electronic

21 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial

22 proceedings), the Producing Party must affix, at a minimum, the legend

23 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL -- ATTORNEYS’

24 EYES ONLY” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL” legend or “HIGHLY

25 CONFIDENTIAL -- ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY legend”), to each page that

26 contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a

27 page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the

28 protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). A

1 Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection

2 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has

3 indicated which documents it would like copied and produced. During the

4 inspection and before the designation, all of the material made available for

5 inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES

6 ONLY.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents, it wants

7 copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents,

8 or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before

9 producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the

10 “CONFIDENTIAL legend” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL –

11 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY legend” to each page that contains Designated

12 Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for

13 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected

14 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).

15 4.7.2. For deposition transcripts and portions thereof taken in this action

16 may be designated as “CONFIDENTIAL,” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL –

17 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” during the deposition or after, in which case

18 the portion of the transcript intended to be protected under this Order shall be

19 marked or otherwise identified in the transcript by the Court Reporter as

20 “CONFIDENTIAL,” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’

21 EYES ONLY.” The designated testimony shall be bound in a separate volume

22 and marked by the reporter accordingly. Where testimony is designated

23 during the deposition, the Designating Party shall have the right to exclude, at

24 those portions of the deposition, all persons not authorized by the terms of this

25 Order to receive such Designated Material Within thirty (30) days after a

26 deposition transcript is certified by the court reporter, any party may designate

27 pages of the transcript and/or its exhibits as Designated Material. During such

28 thirty (30) day period, the transcript in its entirety shall be treated as

1 “CONFIDENTIAL” (except for those portions identified earlier as “HIGHLY

2 CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” which shall be treated

3 accordingly from the date of designation). If any party so designates such

4 material, the parties shall provide written notice of such designation to all

5 parties within the thirty (30) day period. Designated Material within the

6 deposition transcript or the exhibits thereto may be identified in writing by

7 page and line, or by underlining and marking such portions

8 “CONFIDENTIAL,” “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES

9 ONLY” and providing such marked-up portions to all counsel.

10 4.7.3. For information produced in alternative forms other than

11 documentary and for any other tangible items, the Producing Party must affix

12 in a prominent place on the exterior of the container or containers in which the

13 information is stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY

14 CONFIDENTIAL -- ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” If only a portion or

15 portions of the information warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the

16 extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s).

17 5. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

18 5.1. Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a

19 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s

20 scheduling order.

21 5.2. Meet and Confer. The Parties acknowledge that the Challenging Party

22 shall initiate the dispute resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq.

23 5.3. Burden of Proof. The burden of persuasion in any such challenge

24 proceeding shall be on the Challenging Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made

25 for an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens

26 on other parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the

27 Designating Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all

28 Parties shall continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to

1 which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on

2 the challenge.

3 6. ACCESS TO AND USE OF DESIGNATED MATERIAL

4 6.1. Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Designated Material that

5 is disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this

6 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such

7 Designated Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the

8 conditions described in this Order. When this Action has been terminated, the

9 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL

10 DISPOSITION).

11 6.2. Protocols for Secure Storage. Designated Material must be stored and

12 maintained by a Receiving Party at a location and in a secure manner that ensures

13 that access is limited to the persons authorized under this Order.

14 6.3. Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless

15 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a

16 Receiving Party may disclose “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items only to:

17 6.3.1. the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action,

18 as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is

19 reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this Action;

20 6.3.2. the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel)

21 of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this

22 Action;

23 6.3.3. Expert(s) (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to

24 whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed

25 the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);

26 6.3.4. the court and its personnel;

27 6.3.5. court reporters and their staff;

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1 6.3.6. professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and

2 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this

3 Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be

4 Bound” (Exhibit A);

5 6.3.7. the author or recipient of a document containing the information

6 or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the

7 information;

8 6.3.8. during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses,

9 in the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the

10 deposing party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1

11 hereto; and (2) they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information

12 unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit

13 A), unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court.

14 Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal

15 Designated Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may

16 not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective

17 Order; and

18 6.3.9. any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting

19 personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement

20 discussions.

21 6.4. Disclosure of “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL -- ATTORNEYS’ EYES

22 ONLY” Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in

23 writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or

24 item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:

25 6.4.1. the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action,

26 as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is

27 reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this Action;

28 6.4.2. Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom

1 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the

2 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);

3 6.4.3. the court and its personnel;

4 6.4.4. private court reporters and their staff to whom disclosure is

5 reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the

6 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);

7 6.4.5. 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 6.4.6. the author or recipient of a document containing the information

12 or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the

13 information; and

14 6.4.7. any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting

15 personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement

16 discussions.

17 6.5. Examination Rights with Designated Material. Nothing herein in any

18 way restricts the ability of the Receiving Party to use “CONFIDENTIAL,”

19 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” material produced to

20 it in examining or cross-examining any employee or consultant of the Designating

21 Party.

22 6.6. Attorney's Use of Designated Material. Nothing herein shall bar any

23 attorney in the course of rendering advice to such attorney’s client with respect to

24 this litigation from conveying to any party client the attorney’s evaluation in a general

25 way of HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY information

26 produced or exchanged under the terms of this Order; provided, however, that in

27 rendering such advice and otherwise communicating with the client, the attorney

28 shall not disclose the specific contents of any HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL

1 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY produced by another party if such disclosure would be

2 contrary to the terms of this Confidentiality Agreement. The Parties further agree that

3 Plaintiff is free to name revealed alleged infringers as defendants in lawsuit,

4 notwithstanding any Party’s designation of documents showing such information as

5 HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.

6 7. DESIGNATED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED

7 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION(S)

8 7.1. If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served

9 with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this

10 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL -- ATTORNEYS’

11 EYES ONLY” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or order

12 issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission.

13 7.2. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking

14 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions

15 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action

16 to disobey a lawful directive from another court.

17 7.3. If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other

18 litigation that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this

19 Action as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL -- ATTORNEYS’

20 EYES ONLY,” that Party must:

21 7.4. promptly notify in writing the Designating Party providing a copy of the

22 subpoena or court order;

23 7.5. promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order

24 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena

25 or order is subject to this Protective Order along with a copy of this Protective Order;

26 and

27 7.6. cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought or pursued

28 by the Designating Party whose Designated Material may be affected.

1 8. NON-PARTY(S)

2 8.1. The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a

3 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY

4 CONFIDENTIAL -- ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” Such information produced by

5 Non-Parties in connection with this Action is protected by the remedies and relief

6 provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as

7 prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.

8 8.2. If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this Court within

9 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party

10 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery

11 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall

12 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the

13 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court.

14 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense

15 of seeking protection in this court of its Designated Material.

16 8.3. If a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to produce a Non-

17 Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an

18 agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential

19 information, then the Party shall:

20 8.4. promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that

21 some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement with

22 a Non-Party;

23 8.5. promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of this Order in this Action,

24 the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific description of the

25 information requested; and

26 8.6. make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-

27 Party, if requested.

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1 9. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF DESIGNATED

2 MATERIAL

3 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed

4 Designated Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this

5 Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the Designating

6 Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all

7 unauthorized copies of the Designated Material, (c) inform the person or persons to

8 whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d)

9 request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to

10 Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.

11 10. PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL

12 10.1. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). When processing certain

13 material subject to a claim of privilege or other forms of protections, the obligations

14 of the Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This

15 Order is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be established in an e-

16 discovery order that provides for production without prior privilege review.

17 10.2. Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any

18 protected material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected material may

19 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the

20 specific protected material at issue. If a Party’s request to file protected material

21 under seal is denied by the court, then the other Party may file the information in the

22 public record unless otherwise instructed by the Court.

23 10.3. Federal Rule of Evidence. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d)

24 and (e), as far as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a

25 communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work

26 product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated

27 protective order submitted to the court.

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1 11. MISCELLANEOUS

2 11.1. Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any

3 person to seek its modification in the future.

4 11.2. Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this

5 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to

6 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this

7 Protective Order. Similarly, neither Party waives any right to object on any ground

8 to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.

9 12. FINAL DISPOSITION

10 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 3, within 60

11 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return

12 all Designated Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in

13 this subdivision, “all Designated Material” includes all copies, abstracts,

14 compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the

15 Designated Material. Whether the Designated Material is returned or destroyed, the

16 Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if

17 not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that

18 (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Designated Material that was

19 returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any

20 copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or

21 capturing any of the Designated Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel

22 are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial,

23 deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition

24 and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert

25 work product, even if such materials contain Designated Material. Any such archival

26 copies that contain or constitute Designated Material remain subject to this Protective

27 Order as set forth in Section 3 (DURATION).

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1 13. VIOLATION

2 Any violation of this Order may be punished by all appropriate measures

3 | including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.

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5 | The undersigned attests that all signatories listed, and on whose behalf this filing is

6 || submitted, concur in the filing’s content, and have authorized the filing.

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8 | FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.

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10 | DATED: August 11, 2026

1]

12 ¢

13 | Hon. Douglas F. McCormick

14 | United States Magistrate Judge

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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

5 under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated

6 Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for the Central

7 District of California on [date] in the case of 454 CREATIVE CORP. v. LEAN

8 MARKETING GROUP LLC, ET AL., Central District of California Case No.

9 8:25−cv−02546−MRA−DFM. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the

10 terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that

11 failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of

12 contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information

13 or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity

14 except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order.

15 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court

16 for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this

17 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after

18 termination of this action. I hereby appoint [print

19 or type full name] of ______________________________________ [print or type

20 full address and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in

21 connection with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this

22 Stipulated Protective Order.

23 Date: _________________________________

24 City and State where sworn and signed: ________________________________

25

26 Printed name: __________________________________

27

28 Signature: _____________________________________