Opinion

Maxon Industries, Inc. v. Dhollandia US, LLC

Court: District Court, C.D. California
Filed: Dec 18, 2023
Cited by: 0 cases
Authority: More cited than 16.5%

distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents 13 produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related 14 documents are part of court record

How later courts described this case

distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents 13 produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related 14 documents are part of court record
even stipulated protective orders require good 24 cause showing

Written by the judges who cited it.

The opinion

2 EA-NMOaOil:J PMAaTrcE@L H(SaBnkNin: P3a0t0e2n9tL7)a w.com

E-Mail: Anooj@HankinPatentLaw.com

3 HANKIN PATENT LAW,

A Professional Corporation

4 12400 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1265

Los Angeles, CA 90025

5 Tel: (310) 979-3600/Fax: (310) 979-3603

Attorneys for Plaintiff

MAXON INDUSTRIES, INC.

DANIEL A. SOLITRO (SBN: 243908)

E-Mail: dsolitro@lockelord.com

LOCKE LORD LLP

300 South Grand Avenue, Suite 2600

Los Angeles, CA 90071

Tel: (213) 485-1500/Fax: (213) 485-1200

BRYAN G. HARRISON (admitted pro hac vice)

E-Mail: bryan.harrison@lockelord.com

LOCKE LORD LLP

Terminus 200, Suite 2000

3333 Piedmont Rd NE

Atlanta, GA 30305

Tel: (404) 870-4629/Fax: (404) 806-5622

15 Attorneys for Defendant

DHOLLANDIA US, LLC

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

MAXON INDUSTRIES, INC., a CASE No. EDCV 22-2215-GW-AFMx

California corporation,

Plaintiff STIPULATED PROTECTIVE

21 ORDER

DHOLLANDIA US, LLC, a

Delaware Limited Liability

Company; and DOES 1 through 10,

inclusive;

Defendants.

1. PRELIMINARY STATEMENTS

4 A. PURPOSE AND LIMITATIONS

Plaintiff, MAXON INDUSTRIES, INC., and Defendant, DHOLLANDIA US,

LLC (each a “Party,” collectively, the “Parties”) believe that certain information that

is or will be encompassed by discovery demands by the Parties involves the

production or disclosure of trade secrets, confidential business information, or other

proprietary 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.

B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT

19 This action is likely to involve trade secrets, customer and pricing lists and

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

21 proprietary information, for which special protection from public disclosure and from

22 use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such

23 confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, among other things,

24 confidential business or financial information, information regarding confidential

25 business practices, or other confidential research, development, or commercial

26 information (including information implicating privacy rights of third Parties),

27 information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged

28 or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case

2 facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials,

3 to adequately protect information the Parties are entitled to keep confidential, to

4 ensure that the Parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in

5 preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the

6 litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is

7 justified in this matter. It is the intent of the Parties that information will not be

8 designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated

9 without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public

10 manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this

11 case.

C. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER SEAL

The Parties further acknowledge, as set forth in paragraph 11.3, below, that this

Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information

under seal; Local Civil 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The Parties’ mere designation

of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL or HIGHLY

2 submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the material

3 sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise

4 protectable—constitute good cause.

5 Further, if a Party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then

6 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief

7 sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See

8 Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each

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

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

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

12 the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting the application to

13 file documents under seal must be provided by declaration.

14 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in

15 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If

16 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only

17 the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall

18 be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety

19 should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.

2. DEFINITIONS

22 2.1 Action: Case No. 5:22-cv-02215-GW-AFM now pending in the United

23 States District Court for the Central District of California.

24 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation

25 of information or items under this Order.

26 2.3 Designated Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is

27 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL - ATTORNEYS’

28 EYES ONLY.”

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

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

4 Cause Statement.

5 2.5 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL - ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”

6 Information or Items: information (regardless of how it is generated, stored or

7 maintained) or tangible things that is so sensitive that its dissemination deserves even

8 further limitation than CONFIDENTIAL.

9 2.6 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and In-House Counsel (as well as

10 their support staff).

11 2.7 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or

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

13 “CONFIDENTIAL” Or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL - ATTORNEYS’ EYES

14 ONLY.”

15 2.8 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of

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

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

18 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.

19 2.9 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter

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

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

22 2.10 In-House Counsel: attorneys who are internal employees of a Party to this

23 Action. In-House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other

24 outside counsel.

25 2.11 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or

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

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

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

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

5 2.13 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 staffs).

8 2.14 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or

9 Discovery Material in this Action.

10 2.15 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 2.16 Protected Material: any document, information or material that

15 constitutes or includes, in whole or in part, confidential or proprietary information or

16 trade secrets of the Party or a Third Party to whom the Party reasonably believes it

17 owes an obligation of confidentiality with respect to such document, information or

18 material.

19 2.17 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material

20 from a Producing Party.

3. SCOPE

23 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only

24 Designated Material and/or Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any

25 information copied or extracted from Designated Material and/or Protected Material;

26 (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Designated Material and/or

27 Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties

28 or their Counsel that might reveal Designated Material and/or Protected Material. Any

2 orders of the trial Judge. This Order does not govern the use of Designated Material

3 and/or Protected Material at trial.

4. DURATION

6 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as

7 CONFIDENTIAL, HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL - ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY, or

8 maintained pursuant to this Protective Order used or introduced as an exhibit at trial

9 becomes public and will be presumptively available to all members of the public,

10 including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings

11 to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana,

12 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents

13 produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related

14 documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective order

15 do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.

5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL

5.1 Confidential Material. A Party shall designate documents, information or

material as “CONFIDENTIAL” only upon a good faith belief that the documents,

information or material contains confidential or proprietary information or trade

secrets of the Party or a Third Party to whom the Party reasonably believes it owes an

obligation of confidentiality with respect to such documents, information or material.

Documents, information or material produced pursuant to any discovery request in

this Action, including but not limited to Protected Material designated as Designated

Material, shall be used by the Parties only in the litigation of this Action and shall not

be used for any other purpose. Any person or entity who obtains access to Designated

Material or the contents thereof pursuant to this Order shall not make any copies,

duplicates, extracts, summaries or descriptions of such Designated Material or any

2 Any such copies, duplicates, extracts, summaries or descriptions shall be classified

3 Designated Materials and subject to all of the terms and conditions of this Order.

4 5.2 Highly Confidential – Attorneys’ Eyes Only Material. Any party may

5 designate Protected Material as “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEY’S

6 ONLY” when the producing Party believes in good faith that the Protected Material

7 is so sensitive that its dissemination deserves even further limitation, including

8 information that the Designating Party in good faith believes that disclosure will

9 likely harm the Designating Party’s competitive position concerning, inter alia: trade

10 secrets; customer/supplier lists and other highly confidential information regarding

11 customers, dealers and distributors; non-public technical information; confidential

12 financial information; manufacturing and research information; confidential

13 commercial information regarding technology used to make and/or confirm the

14 authenticity of the products at issue in the litigation; and/or highly sensitive

15 information that is not publicly known.

16 5.3 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.

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

18 Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies

19 under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection

20 only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written communications that

21 qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items or communications

22 for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of

23 this Order.

24 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that are

25 shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g.,

26 to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose unnecessary

27 expenses and burdens on other Parties) may expose the Designating Party to

28 sanctions.

2 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must

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

4 5.4 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this

5 Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated

6 or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this

7 Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced.

8 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:

9 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents,

10 but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), the

11 Producing Party shall affix at a minimum, the word(s) “CONFIDENTIAL” or

12 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL - ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”, placed clearly at the

13 bottom, center of each page of the Protected Material for which such protection is

14 sought. Discovery responses shall not bear the “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY

15 CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” legend on the entire document,

16 unless all of the responses contained therein meet the criteria of being designated as

17 such. Otherwise, the responding party shall designate for each response the

18 appropriate designation legend. Such designations shall be made at the time when the

19 discovery response is served, or when the document or thing, or copy thereof, is

20 provided to the receiving party.

21 (b) for testimony given in depositions or at a hearing, the wording

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

23 ONLY” shall be placed on the cover page of the transcript (if not already present on

24 the cover page of the transcript when received from the Court Reporter) by each

25 attorney receiving a copy of the transcript after that attorney receives notice of the

26 designation of some or all of that transcript as “CONFIDENTIAL or “HIGHLY

27 CONFIDENTIAL - ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” and on each page where

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

2 (c) For video recordings of depositions or hearings, the Parties shall instruct

3 the videographer upon the conclusion of the video-testimony, how to designate the

4 videorecording, or any portion thereof, as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY

5 CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”. All documents, or any portion

6 thereof, made available for inspection (but not yet formally produced to the inspecting

7 party) shall be presumptively deemed to contain “Highly Confidential – Attorneys’

8 Eyes Only” subject to the provisions of this Protective Order, regardless of whether

9 so identified, until copies thereof are formally produced to the inspecting party. Any

10 information, document, or thing that bears both designations must be treated as

11 “Highly Confidential – Attorneys’ Eyes Only.”

12 (d) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for any

13 other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the

14 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend

15 “CONFIDENTIAL” Or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES

16 ONLY.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants protection, the

17 Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s).

18 (e) All documents, or any portion thereof, made available for inspection (but

19 not yet formally produced to the inspecting party) shall be presumptively deemed to

20 contain “Highly Confidential – Attorneys’ Eyes Only” subject to the provisions of

21 this Protective Order, regardless of whether so identified, until copies thereof are

22 formally produced to the inspecting party. Any information, document, or thing that

23 bears both designations must be treated as “Highly Confidential – Attorneys’ Eyes

24 Only.”

25 5.5 With respect to documents, information or material designated

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

27 ONLY”, subject to the provisions herein and unless otherwise stated, this Order

28 governs, without limitation: (a) all documents, electronically stored information,

2 hearing or deposition testimony, or documents marked as exhibits or for identification

3 in depositions, hearings and trial; (c) pretrial pleadings, exhibits to pleadings and

4 other court filings; (d) affidavits; and (e) stipulations. All copies, reproductions,

5 extracts, digests and complete or partial summaries prepared from any Designated

6 Material shall also be considered Designated Material and treated as such under this

7 Order.

8 5.6 A designation of Protected Material (i.e., “CONFIDENTIAL” or

9 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL - ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”) shall be made as

10 follows: (i) for testimony at deposition or hearing, such designation shall be made by

11 each party within ten (10) days of receipt of the transcript and (ii) for any other

12 Designated Material, such designation shall be made at the time of production.

13 Access to Designated Material shall be limited in accordance with the terms of this

14 Order. Prior to expiration of the 10-day period, Designated Material shall be treated

15 as “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL - ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY”.

16 5.7 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. An inadvertent failure to designate

17 qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s

18 right to secure protection under this Order for such material; provided, however, that

19 the Designating Party advises the Receiving Party of the failure to designate in a

20 timely manner. Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must

21 make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the

22 provisions of this Order.

6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

25 Any party may challenge a designation given to any Designated Material at any

26 time by notifying the designating Party in writing of the basis for the dispute,

27 identifying the specific document[s] or thing[s] as to which the designation is disputed

28 and proposing a new designation for such materials. The Parties must make every

2 confidentiality designation or for a protective order must include a certification, in the

3 motion or in a declaration or affidavit, that the movant has engaged in a good faith

4 meet and confer conference with other affected Parties in an effort to resolve the

5 dispute without court action. The certification must list the date, manner, and

6 participants to the conference. A good faith effort to confer requires a face-to-face

7 meeting or a telephone conference. If the Parties cannot agree, the requesting Party

8 may apply to the Court for relief. Pending the Court’s determination of the

9 application, the designation of the designating Party shall be maintained. A Party’s

10 failure to contest a designation of information as Confidential or Highly Confidential

11 is not an admission that the information was properly designated as such.

7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF DESIGNATED OR PROTECTED MATERIAL

14 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Designated Material and/or

15 Protected Material that is disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party

16 in connection with this Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle

17 this Action. Such Designated Material and/or Protected Material may be disclosed

18 only to the categories of persons and under the conditions described in this Order.

19 When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the

20 provisions of section 12 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).

21 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a location

22 and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons authorized

23 under this Order.

24 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless

25 otherwise ordered by the court or upon receipt of the prior written consent of the

26 Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated

27 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:

2 secretarial, clerical personnel assisting such counsel, and any other employees of

3 counsel or independent contractors operating under counsel’s instruction;

4 (b) a Party’s In-House Counsel (if any exist);

5 (c) if the Receiving Party does not have an In-House Counsel, the Receiving

6 Party may disclose Confidential Information up to and including four (4) designated

7 representatives of each of the Parties, and each named individual Party to the

8 litigation, to the extent reasonably necessary for the litigation of this Action. The

9 Receiving Party shall provide the name, job title, and an executed undertaking in the

10 form attached hereto as Exhibit A executed by such representative(s) to the

11 Designating Party no less than ten (10) days prior to disclosing Designated

12 Information;

13 (d) outside consultants or experts (i.e., not existing employees or affiliates of

14 a Party or an affiliate of a Party) retained for the purpose of this litigation, provided

15 that: (1) such consultants or experts are not presently employed by the Parties hereto

16 for purposes other than this Action; and (2) before access is given, the consultant or

17 expert has completed the undertaking attached as Exhibit A hereto;

18 (e) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a

19 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;

20 (f) any mediator(s), arbitrator(s), or special masters(s) appointed by the

21 Court or agreed to by the Parties;

22 (g) independent litigation support services, including persons working for or

23 as court reporters, stenographers, videographers, graphics or design services, jury or

24 trial consulting services, and photocopy, document imaging, and database services

25 retained by counsel and reasonably necessary to assist counsel with the litigation of

26 this Action; and

27 (h) the Court and its personnel.

2 Information or Items. For Protected Material designated as HIGHLY

3 CONFIDENTIAL -- ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY, access to, and disclosure of, such

4 Protected Material shall be limited to individuals listed in paragraphs 7.2(a) and (d-

5 h).

6 7.4 Privilege/Work Product Material. Nothing in this Order shall require

7 production of documents, information or other material that a Party contends is

8 protected from disclosure by the attorney-client privilege, the work product doctrine,

9 or other privilege, doctrine, or immunity. If documents, information or other material

10 subject to a claim of attorney-client privilege, work product doctrine, or other

11 privilege, doctrine, or immunity is inadvertently or unintentionally produced, such

12 production shall in no way prejudice or otherwise constitute a waiver of, or estoppel

13 as to, any such privilege, doctrine, or immunity. Any Party that inadvertently or

14 unintentionally produces documents, information or other material it reasonably

15 believes are protected under the attorney-client privilege, work product doctrine, or

16 other privilege, doctrine, or immunity may obtain the return of such documents,

17 information or other material by promptly notifying the recipient(s) and providing a

18 privilege log for the inadvertently or unintentionally produced documents,

19 information or other material. Any Party that believes they have inadvertently or

20 unintentionally received documents, information or other material subject to a claim

21 of attorney-client privilege, work product doctrine, or other privilege, doctrine, or

22 immunity, shall immediately notify the producing Party of the potential inadvertent

23 disclosure. The recipient(s) shall gather and return all copies of such documents,

24 information or other material to the producing Party, except for any pages containing

25 privileged or otherwise protected markings by the recipient(s), which pages shall

26 instead be destroyed and certified as such to the producing Party.

27 7.5 There shall be no disclosure of any Designated Material by any person

28 authorized to have access thereto to any person who is not authorized for such access

2 information and material to protect against disclosure to any unauthorized persons or

3 entities.

4 7.6 Service of Designated Material. Any Party electronically serving

5 designated material, shall share the designated material by email or a shared file link

6 to all email eservice addresses identified in the Parties’ Counsel’s signature blocks

7 below. The subject line of the email shall include the language “SERVICE OF

8 DESIGNATED MATERIAL, MAXON INDUS., INC. v. DHOLLANDIA US,

9 USDC CD CAL Case No. 5:22-cv-02215”. Non-Designated Material shall be served

10 by the same method, may be eserved in the same email, and the Subject reference line

11 may be modified accordingly.

12 7.7 Use of Designated Material. Nothing contained herein shall be construed

13 to prejudice any Party’s right to use any Designated Material in taking testimony at

14 any deposition, hearing or trial provided that the Designated Material is only disclosed

15 to a person(s) who is: (i) eligible to have access to the Designated Material by virtue

16 of his or her employment with the designating party, (ii) identified in the Designated

17 Material as an author, addressee, or copy recipient of such information, (iii) although

18 not identified as an author, addressee, or copy recipient of such Designated Material,

19 has, in the ordinary course of business, seen such Designated Material, (iv) a current

20 or former officer, director or employee of the producing Party or a current or former

21 officer, director or employee of a company affiliated with the producing Party; (v) for

22 CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL, counsel for a Party, including outside counsel, and

23 in-house counsel, and for HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL - ATTORNEYS’ EYES

24 ONLY MATERIAL, counsel for a party, excluding in-house counsel, unless agreed

25 in a prior writing; (vi) subject to Paragraph 4(d), an independent contractor,

26 consultant, and/or expert retained for the purpose of this litigation; (vii) court

27 reporters and videographers; (viii) the Court; or (ix) other persons entitled hereunder

28 to access to Designated Material. Designated Material shall not be disclosed to any

2 producing Party.

3 7.8 Before filing any Designated Material or discussing or referencing such

4 material in court filings, or using Designated Material at depositions, hearings and/or

5 trial, the filing party shall confer with the designating party, in accordance with Local

6 Rule 7.3, to determine whether the designating party will remove the confidential

7 designation, whether the document can be redacted, or whether a motion to seal or

8 stipulation and proposed order is warranted. During the meet and confer process, the

9 designating party must identify the basis for sealing the specific confidential

10 information at issue, and the designating party shall include this basis in its motion to

11 seal, along with any objection to sealing the information at issue. Local Rule 79-5 sets

12 forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when

13 a party seeks permission from the Court to file material under seal. A party who seeks

14 to maintain the confidentiality of its information must satisfy the requirements of

15 Local Rule 79-5, even if it is not the party filing the motion to seal.

16 7.9 Acknowledgement Form. Each (i) Party representative or (ii) outside

17 consultant or expert to whom Designated Material is disclosed in accordance with the

18 terms of this Order shall be advised by counsel of the terms of this Order, shall be

19 informed that he or she is subject to the terms and conditions of this Order, and shall

20 sign an undertaking that he or she has received a copy of, has read, and has agreed to

21 be bound by this Order. A copy of the undertaking form is attached as Exhibit A.

8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN

OTHER LITIGATION

25 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation

26 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as

27 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL - ATTORNEY’S EYES

28 ONLY,” that Party shall:

2 include a copy of the subpoena or court order;

3 2) to the extent permitted by law, court rule, and court order, withhold

4 production of the requested information until (a) the producing Party permits

5 production, (b) a court of competent jurisdiction orders otherwise, (c) the producing

6 Party files a motion or other legal action to protect such material and the court has

7 ruled on said motion, or (d) the producing Party fails to file a motion or other legal

8 action to protect such material within five (5) business days following receipt of the

9 notice required in Paragraph 24(1).

10 The purpose of imposing these duties is to alert the interested Parties to the existence

11 of this Protective Order and to afford the designating party in this litigation an

12 opportunity to try to protect its confidentiality interests in the court from which the

13 subpoena, request or order issued.

9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE

PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION

17 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-

18 Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY

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

20 Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief

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

22 a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.

23 (b) To the extent that discovery or testimony is taken of Non-Party, the Non-

24 Party may designate as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL --

25 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” any documents, information or other material, in

26 whole or in part, produced or given by such Non-Party. The Non-Party shall have ten

27 (10) days after production of such documents, information or other materials to make

28 such a designation. Until that time period lapses or until such a designation has been

2 produced or given shall be treated as “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’

3 EYES ONLY” in accordance with this Order.

10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

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

7 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this

8 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in

9 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts

10 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or

11 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order,

12 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and

13 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.

11. MISCELLANEOUS

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

person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.

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

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

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

Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any

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

11.3 Filing Designated and/or Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file

under seal any Protected and/or Designated Material must comply with Local Civil

Rule 79-5. Designated and/or Protected Material may only be filed under seal

pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific Designated and/or

Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Designated and/or Protected

Material under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the

2 11.4 The failure to designate documents, information or material in accordance

3 with this Order and the failure to object to a designation at a given time shall not

4 preclude the filing of a motion at a later date seeking to impose such designation or

5 challenging the propriety thereof. The entry of this Order and/or the production of

6 documents, information and material hereunder shall in no way constitute a waiver of

7 any objection to the furnishing thereof, all such objections being hereby preserved.

8 11.5 Production of Designated Material by each of the Parties shall not be

9 deemed a publication of the documents, information and material (or the contents

10 thereof) produced so as to void or make voidable whatever claim the Parties may have

11 as to the proprietary and confidential nature of the documents, information or other

12 material or its contents.

13 11.6 Nothing in this Order shall be construed to effect an abrogation, waiver

14 or limitation of any kind on the rights of each of the Parties to assert any applicable

15 discovery or trial privilege.

16 11.7 Each of the Parties shall also retain the right to file a motion with the

17 Court (a) to modify this Order to allow disclosure of Designated Material to additional

18 persons or entities if reasonably necessary to prepare and present this Action and (b)

19 to apply for additional protection of Designated Material.

12. FINAL DISPOSITION

22 12.1 Within thirty (30) days of final termination of this Action, including any

23 appeals, all Designated Material, including all copies, duplicates, abstracts, indexes,

24 summaries, descriptions, and excerpts or extracts thereof (excluding excerpts or

25 extracts incorporated into any privileged memoranda of the Parties and materials

26 which have been admitted into evidence in this Action), shall at the producing Party’s

27 election either be returned to the producing Party or be destroyed. The receiving Party

28 shall verify the return or destruction by affidavit furnished to the producing Party,

2 12.2 Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival

3 copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal

4 memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney

5 work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain

6 Designated and/or Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or

7 constitute Designated and/or Protected Material remain subject to this Protective

8 Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION).

9 12.3 Survival. This Order’s obligations regarding Confidential and Highly

10 Confidential information survive the conclusion of this case.

13. VIOLATION

13 Any Party knowing or believing that any other party is in violation of or intends

14 to violate this Order and has raised the question of violation or potential violation with

15 the opposing party and has been unable to resolve the matter by agreement may move

16 the Court for such relief as may be appropriate in the circumstances. Pending

17 disposition of the motion by the Court, the Party alleged to be in violation of or

18 intending to violate this Order shall discontinue the performance of and/or shall not

19 undertake the further performance of any action alleged to constitute a violation of

20 this Order.

IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.

23 DATED: August 10, 2023

24 By: /Marc E. Hankin/

25 HANKIN PATENT LAW, APC

Marc E. Hankin, Esq.

26 12400 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1265

Los Angeles, California 90025

27 Telephone: (310) 979-3600

marc@hankinpatentlaw.com;

Attorneys for Plaintiff, Maxon Industries, Inc.

2 DATED: August 17, 2023

3 By: /Daniel A. Solitro/

LOCKE LORD LLP

4 Daniel A. Solitro

300 South Grand Avenue, Suite 2600

5 Los Angeles, CA 90071

Telephone: (213) 485-1500

6 dsolitro@lockelord.com

7 Attorneys for Defendant, Dhollandia US, LLC

1 PURSUANT TO STIPULATION, AND FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO

2 ORDERED.

3 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that pursuant to Fed. R. Evid. 502(d), the

4 || production of any documents in this proceeding shall not, for the purposes of this

5 || proceeding or any other federal or state proceeding, constitute a waiver by the

6 || producing party of any privilege applicable to those documents, including the

7 || attorney-client privilege, attorney work-product protection, or any other privilege or

8 || protection recognized by law.

10 |} DATED: December 18, 2023

Pe &

13 || HON. GEORGE H. WU,

14 United States District Judge

2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND

4 I, ____________________________________ [print or type full name], of

5 ____________________________________ [print or type full address], declare

6 under penalty of perjury of the laws of the United States of America that:

7 1. I have received a copy of the Protective Order in this action. I have

8 carefully read in its entirety and understand the Protective Order that was issued by

9 the United States District Court for the Central District of California on [date] in the

10 case of Maxon Industries, Inc. v. Dhollandia US, LLC, Case No. 5:22-cv-02215-GW-

11 AFM.

12 2. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Protective

13 Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me

14 to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt.

15 3. I solemnly promise that I will hold in confidence, will not disclose to

16 anyone not qualified under the Protective Order, and will use only for purposes of this

17 action any information designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY

18 CONFIDENTIAL -- ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” that is disclosed to me.

19 4. Promptly upon termination of these actions, I will return all documents

20 and things designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL --

21 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” that came into my possession, and all documents and

22 things that I have prepared relating thereto, to the outside counsel for the party by

23 whom I am employed.

2 enforcement of the Protective Order in this action even if such enforcement

3 proceedings occur after termination of this action.

5 Date: ________________ Signature: ____________________________

6 Printed Name: _________________________

7 City/State where sworn and signed:

8 _____________________________________

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.