EP Family Corp. v. Changzhou Win Up Time Technology Co., Ltd et al

Filing 28

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER by Magistrate Judge Margo A. Rocconi re Stipulation for Protective Order 24 . See document for details. (es)

1 Lei Mei (SBN 240104)
MEI & MARK LLP
2 818 18th St. NW, Suite 410
3 Washington, DC 20006
Telephone: [phone]
4 Facsimile: 888-706-1173
Email: [e-mail]
5
6 Attorney for Defendants
Hangzhou Taihe Trading Co., Ltd. and
7 Ningbo Likeju Trading Co., Ltd.
8
Tommy SF Wang
9 WANG IP LAW GROUP, P.C.
18645 E. Gale Ave., Suite 205
10
City of Industry, CA 91748
11 Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
12 Email: [e-mail]
13
Attorney for Plaintiff,
14 EP Family Corp.
15
16

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

17

CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

18
19
20

EP FAMILY CORP., a California
corporation,

21

Plaintiff,

22
23
24
25
26
27
28

v.
CHANGZHOU WIN UP TIME
TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD., et al.,
Defendants.

Case No.: 2:22-cv-04242-GW-MARx
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

1 1.

INTRODUCTION

2

1.1 PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS

3

Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,

4 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public
5 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may
6 be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to
7 enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this
8 Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to
9 discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends
10 only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment
11 under the applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth
12 in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to
13 file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the
14 procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party
15 seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.
16

1.2

17

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

GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT

18 other valuable research, development, commercial, financial, technical and/or
19 proprietary information for which special protection from public disclosure and
20 from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such
21 confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, among other
22 things, confidential business or financial information, information regarding
23 confidential business practices, or other confidential research, development, or
24 commercial information (including information implicating privacy rights of third
25 parties), information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be
26 privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes,
27 court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of
28 information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of
2

1 discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep
2 confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of
3 such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling
4 at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such
5 information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information
6 will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so
7 designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential,
8 non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public
9 record of this case.
10
11 2.

DEFINITIONS

12

2.1

Action: [this pending federal lawsuit]. [*Option: consolidated or

13 related actions.]
14

2.2

Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the

15 designation of information or items under this Order.
16

2.3

“CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of

17 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for
18 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in
19 the Good Cause Statement.
20

2.4

Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as

21 their support staff).
22

2.5

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

23 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
24 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
25

2.6

Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless

26 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
27 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or
28 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
3

1

2.7

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

2 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as
3 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
4

2.8

House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.

5 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
6 counsel.
7
8

2.9

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

9 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
10

2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a

11 party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and
12 have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm
13 which has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
14

2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,

15 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
16 support staffs).
17

2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or

18 Discovery Material in this Action.
19

2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation

20 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
21 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
22 and their employees and subcontractors.
23

2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is

24 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
25

2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery

26 Material from a Producing Party.
27
28 3.

SCOPE
4

1

The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only

2 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
3 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
4 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
5 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
6

Any use of Protected Material at trial will be governed by the orders of the

7 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
8 4.

DURATION

9

Even after final disposition

10 of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations imposed by this Order will remain in
11 effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court order
12 otherwise directs. Final disposition will be deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of
13 all claims and defenses in this Action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final
14 judgment herein after the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings,
15 remands, trials, or reviews of this Action, including the time limits for filing any
16 motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to applicable law.
17
18 5.

DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL

19

5.1

Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.

20 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under
21 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that
22 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for
23 protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written
24 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents,
25 items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept
26 unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
27

Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations

28 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper
5

1 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose
2 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating
3 Party to sanctions.
4

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

5 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
6 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
7

5.2

Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in

8 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) 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
13

Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
(a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic

14 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
15 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend
16 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that
17 contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page
18 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected
19 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
20

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

21 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
22 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and
23 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection will be
24 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the
25 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which
26 documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then,
27 before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the
28 “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a
6

1 portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing
2 Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate
3 markings in the margins).
4

(b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify

5 the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the
6 deposition all protected testimony.
7

(c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and

8 for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on
9 the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the
10 legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information
11 warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, will identify the
12 protected portion(s).
13

5.3

Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent

14 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive
15 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.
16 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable
17 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this
18 Order.
19
20 6.

CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

21

6.1

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

22 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
23 Scheduling Order.
24
25

6.2

Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party will initiate the dispute

26 resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq.
27

6.3

The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding will be on

28 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper
7

1 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other
2 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating
3 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties will
4 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is
5 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the
6 challenge.
7
8 7.

ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

9

7.1

Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is

10 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
11 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such
12 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
13 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a
14 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL
15 DISPOSITION).
16

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

17 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
18 authorized under this Order.
19

7.2

Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless

20 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
21 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
22 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
23

(a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as

24 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably
25 necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
26

(b) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom

27 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
28 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
8

1

(c) the Court and its personnel;

2

(d) court reporters and their staff;

3

(e) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional

4 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
5 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
6

(f) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a

7 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
8

(g) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the

9 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party
10 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they
11 will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
12 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise
13 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed
14 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may
15 be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except
16 as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
17

(h) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,

18 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
19
20 8.

PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED

21 IN OTHER LITIGATION
22

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

23 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
24 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
25

(a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification

26 will include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
27

(b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order

28 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the
9

1 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification will include
2 a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
3

(c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be

4 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
5 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with
6 the subpoena or court order will not produce any information designated in this
7 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the
8 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s
9 permission. The Designating Party will bear the burden and expense of seeking
10 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions
11 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action
12 to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
13
14 9.

A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE

15 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
16

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

17 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
18 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the
19
20 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be
21 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
22

(b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to

23 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
24 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
25 confidential information, then the Party will:
26

(1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party

27 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality
28 agreement with a Non-Party;
10

1

(2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated

2 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably
3 specific description of the information requested; and
4

(3) make the information requested available for inspection by the

5 Non-Party, if requested.
6

(c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within

7 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party
8 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery
9 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall
10 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the
11 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court.
12 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and
13 expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.
14
15 10.

UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

16

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

17 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
18 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in
19 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts
20 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or
21 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order,
22 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and
23 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
24
25 11.

INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE

26 PROTECTED MATERIAL
27

When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain

28 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
11

1 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil
2 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever
3 procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production
4 without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d)
5 and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a
6 communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work
7 product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated
8 protective order submitted to the court.
9
10 12.

MISCELLANEOUS

11

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

12 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
13

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

14 Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
15 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
16 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any
17 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
18

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

19 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material
20 may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the
21 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material
22 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information
23 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
24
25 13.

FINAL DISPOSITION

26

After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60

27 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return
28 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in
12

1 this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
2 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
3 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving
4 Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same
5 person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies
6 (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or
7 destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies,
8 abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any
9 of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to
10 retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing
11 transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert
12 reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such
13 materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or
14 constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in
15 Section 4 (DURATION).
16
17 14.

Any willful violation of this Order may be punished by civil or criminal

18 contempt proceedings, financial or evidentiary sanctions, reference to disciplinary
19 authorities, or other appropriate action at the discretion of the Court.
20 //
21 //
22 //
23 //
24 //
25 //
26 //
27 //
28 //
13

1 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
2
3 DATED: January 12, 2023
4
5
6
7
8

/s/ Tommy SF Wang
Attorney for Plaintiff
Tommy SF Wang
WANG IP LAW GROUP, P.C.
18645 E. Gale Ave., Suite 205
City of Industry, CA 91748
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

9
10 DATED: January 12, 2023
11
12
13
14
15

/s/ Lei Mei
Attorney for Defendants
Lei Mei (SBN 240104)
Mei & Mark LLP
818 18th St. NW, Suite 410
Washington, DC 20006
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: 888-706-1173
Email: [e-mail]

16
17
18 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
19
20
21 DATED: January 18, 2023
22
23

HON.
ON MARGO A
A. ROCCO
ROCCONI
United States Magistrate Judge

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25
26
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28
14

1

EXHIBIT A

2

ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND

3
4

I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], of

5 _________________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury
6 that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that
7 was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California
8 on _________ [date] in the case of ___________ [insert formal case name and the
9 numbers and initials assigned to it by the court]. I agree to comply with and to
10 be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and
11 acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment
12 in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner
13 any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any
14 person or entity 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 signed: _________________________________
25
26 Printed name: _______________________________
27
28 Signature: __________________________________
15