Mar Vista Entertainment, LLC et al v. THQ Nordic AB

Filing 76

PROTECTIVE ORDER by Magistrate Judge Steve Kim re Stipulation for Protective Order 75 . (see document for details) (hr)

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 John K. Ly (SBN 247477) Email: jly@lianglyllp.com Jennifer L. Chor (SBN 352577) Email: jchor@lianglyllp.com LIANG LY LLP 601 South Figueroa Street Suite 1950 Los Angeles, California 90017 Telephone: (213) 262-8000 Facsimile: (213) 335-7776 Ben Natter (admitted pro hac vice) Email:bnatter@haugpartners.com Michael Barer (admitted pro hac vice) Email:mbarer@haugpartners.com HAUG PARTNERS LLP 745 Fifth Avenue, 10th Floor New York, NY 10151 Tel: (212) 588-0800 Fax: (212) 588-0801 Attorneys for Defendant THQ Nordic AB 16 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 17 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 18 19 WESTERN DIVISION 20 21 Mar Vista Entertainment, LLC, The Ninth House, LLC and Ninth Dark, LLC, 22 Plaintiffs, 23 24 25 vs. THQ Nordic AB, 26 27 28 CASE NO. 2:23-cv-06924-MEMF 6.[ Defendant. [PROPOSED] STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 1 2 THQ Nordic AB, 3 4 Counter-complainant, vs. 5 6 7 Mar Vista Entertainment, LLC, The Ninth House, LLC and Ninth Dark, LLC, Counter-defendants. 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 13.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal. 1.2 GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT This action is likely to involve research, development, technical, commercial, financial, and/or proprietary information for which special protection from public 2 1 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is 2 warranted. Such materials and information may consist of, among other things, 3 information regarding proprietary technology, including information pertaining to 4 research, development, and part selection and specifications, commercially sensitive 5 business or financial information, other confidential commercial information, 6 including information implicating privacy rights of third parties, information 7 otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or information which may be 8 privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, 9 court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of 10 information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of 11 discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep 12 confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of 13 such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling 14 at the end of the litigation, and to serve the ends of justice, a protective order for 15 such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that 16 information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that 17 nothing will be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained 18 in a confidential, non-public manner and that there is good cause why it should not 19 be part of the public record of this case. 20 2. 21 DEFINITIONS 2.1 Action: The above-captioned action, filed in the United States District 22 Court for the Central District of California, entitled Mar Vista Entertainment, LLC, 23 The Ninth House, LLC and Ninth Dark, LLC v. THQ Nordic AB, Case No. 2:23-cv- 24 06924-MEMF-SSC. 25 26 27 28 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of information or items under this Order. 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for 3 1 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in 2 the Good Cause Statement. 3 2.4 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”: 4 information or Items: information (regardless of how it is generated) that qualifies 5 as “CONFIDENTIAL” information and contains extremely sensitive information, 6 the disclosure of which to another party would create a substantial risk of serious 7 competitive injury that could not be avoided by less restrictive means, including but 8 not limited to: (i) marketing, financial, sales, web traffic, research and development, 9 or technical data or information; (ii) commercially sensitive competitive 10 information, including, without limitation, information obtained from a Non-Party 11 pursuant to a current Nondisclosure Agreement (“NDA”); (iii) commercial 12 information implicating privacy rights of third parties; (iv) information or data 13 relating to future products not yet commercially released and/or strategic plans; (v) 14 trade secret, or other confidential research and development information; and (vi) 15 commercial agreements, settlement agreements, or settlement communications, the 16 disclosure of which is likely to cause harm to the competitive position of the 17 Producing Party. 18 2.5 19 20 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their support staff). 2.6 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or 21 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 22 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ EYES 23 ONLY.” 24 2.7 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless 25 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, 26 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or 27 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 28 4 1 2.8 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 2.9 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 2.10 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 9 2.11 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a 10 party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and 11 have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm 12 which has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff. 13 2.12 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 14 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 15 support staffs). 16 17 2.13 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or Discovery Material in this Action. 18 2.14 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation 19 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 20 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) 21 and their employees and subcontractors. 22 2.15 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 23 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ 24 EYES ONLY.” 25 26 2.16 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material from a Producing Party. 27 28 5 1 3. SCOPE 2 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only 3 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or 4 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or 5 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or 6 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. Any use of Protected Material at trial will be governed by the orders of the 7 8 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 9 10 4. DURATION Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations 11 12 imposed by this Order will remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees 13 otherwise in writing or a court order otherwise directs. Final disposition will be 14 deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this Action, with 15 or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the completion and 16 exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this Action, 17 including the time limits for filing any motions or applications for extension of time 18 pursuant to applicable law. 19 20 21 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. 22 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under 23 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that 24 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for 25 protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written 26 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, 27 28 6 1 items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept 2 unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. 3 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations 4 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 5 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose 6 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating 7 Party to sanctions. 8 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 9 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 10 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 11 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 12 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise 13 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection 14 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or 15 produced. 16 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 17 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents, 18 but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that 19 the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter 20 “CONFIDENTIAL legend”) or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ 21 EYES ONLY” (hereinafter “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ EYES 22 ONLY legend”), to each page that contains protected material. If only a portion or 23 portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also 24 must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings 25 in the margins). If it is not possible to include a designation on a document itself 26 (e.g. a file served in native form), the Producing Party must clearly identify the 27 protected information in a cover letter served concurrently with the production, or 28 otherwise identify the protected information in a clear and obvious manner. 7 1 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection 2 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated 3 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and 4 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection will be 5 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ 6 EYES ONLY.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants 7 copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or 8 portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the 9 specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” 10 or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY legend” to each page 11 that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a 12 page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the 13 protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 14 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify the 15 Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition all 16 protected testimony, or, alternatively, within thirty (30) days of receipt of the final 17 certified transcript of any deposition, any Party or Non-Party may request that the 18 original and all copies of the deposition transcript, in whole or in part, may be 19 marked “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ 20 EYES ONLY.” Prior to the expiration of the 30 day period, all of the testimony will 21 be deemed “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” 22 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for 23 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the 24 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend 25 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ EYES 26 ONLY.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants protection, the 27 Producing Party, to the extent practicable, will identify the protected portion(s). 28 8 5.3 1 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. An inadvertent failure to designate 2 qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating 3 Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon timely 4 correction of a designation after discovery, the Receiving Party must make 5 reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the 6 provisions of this Order. A party may upward designate (i.e., change any documents or other materials 7 8 produced without a designation to a designation to “CONFIDENTIAL” or 9 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY,” or change any 10 Protected Material produced as “CONFIDENTIAL” to a designation of “HIGHLY 11 CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”) any Discovery Material 12 produced by any other Party or Non-Party, provided that the Discovery Material 13 contains the upward Designating Party’s own Protected Material, or otherwise is 14 entitled to protective treatment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c). 15 Upward designation shall be accomplished by providing written notice to all parties 16 identifying (by bates number or other individually identifiable information) the 17 Discovery Material to be re-designated. Any Party may object to the upward 18 designation of Discovery Material pursuant to the procedures set forth herein 19 regarding challenging designations. 20 21 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 6.1 22 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 23 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s 24 Scheduling Order. 25 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party will initiate the dispute 26 resolution process (and, if necessary, file a discovery motion) under Local Rule 37.1 27 et seq. 28 9 6.3 1 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding will be on 2 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper 3 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other 4 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating 5 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties will 6 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is 7 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the 8 challenge. 9 10 11 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 12 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 13 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such 14 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the 15 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a 16 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 14 below (FINAL 17 DISPOSITION). 18 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 19 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 20 authorized under this Order. 21 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 22 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 23 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 24 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 25 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as 26 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably 27 necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 28 10 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of 1 2 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; (c) Experts and Technical Advisors (as defined in this Order) of the 3 4 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action, 5 provided that the Receiving Party adhere to the provisions of section 8 of this Order; (d) the Court and its personnel, any other person (such as a master) who 6 7 serves in a judicial or quasi-judicial function, and jurors; 8 (e) court reporters and their staff; 9 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 10 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have 11 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 12 13 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 14 (h) Any fact witness of the Producing Party during the course of a 15 deposition. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that 16 reveal Protected Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may 17 not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective 18 Order; (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 19 20 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions; and 21 (j) Any other persons to whom all parties in writing agree, provided that 22 such persons have first been given a copy of this Order and have executed the form 23 attached as Exhibit A hereto. 24 25 7.3 Disclosure of “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” Information or Items. 26 Unless otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the 27 Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item 28 designated “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” only to: 11 1 (a) Outside Counsel of Record for the Parties and supporting personnel 2 employed by the law firm(s) of outside litigation counsel of record, such as 3 attorneys, paralegals, legal translators, legal secretaries, law clerks, project 4 managers, and litigation support personnel; 5 (b) Technical advisers and their necessary support personnel engaged by 6 Outside Counsel of Record for the Parties, subject to the provisions of section 8. 7 Subject to any applicable restrictions, Outside Counsel of Record shall retain each 8 signed Nondisclosure Agreement and produce it to opposing in accordance with the 9 provisions of section 8. The term “technical advisor” shall mean independent 10 outside expert witnesses, consulting experts, or consultants (i.e., not employees of a 11 party) retained by counsel of record for the parties who are deemed reasonably 12 necessary to assist such counsel in connection with this litigation, provided that 13 disclosure is only to the extent necessary to perform such work; and provided that: 14 (a) such advisor is not anticipated at the time of retention to become an offer, 15 director, or employee of a Party; (b) no unresolved objections to such disclosure 16 exist after proper notice has been given to all parties as set forth in section 8; 17 (c) Independent contractors engaged by Outside Counsel of Record for the 18 Parties, to the extent reasonably necessary to assist such counsel in connection with 19 this litigation, including but not limited to (i) legal translators retained to translate in 20 connection with this action; (ii) independent stenographic reporters and 21 videographers retained to record and transcribe testimony in connection with this 22 action; (iii) graphics or design services retained by counsel for purposes of preparing 23 demonstrative or other exhibits for deposition, trial, or other court proceedings in the 24 action; (iv) non-technical jury or trial consulting services; (v) electronic discovery 25 vendors retained to assist with the organization and management of electronic 26 discovery; and (vi) private investigators, provided that such persons or entities have 27 first been given a copy of this Order and have executed the form attached as Exhibit 28 A hereto. Subject to any applicable restrictions, counsel shall retain each signed 12 1 Nondisclosure Agreement, and produce it to opposing counsel at the conclusion of 2 the case; 3 (d) Any fact witness of the Producing Party during the course of a deposition; 4 (e) The Court and its personnel, any other person (such as a master or 5 mediator) who serves in a judicial or quasi-judicial function, professional 6 stenographic reporters engaged to transcribe testimony (under seal or with other 7 suitable precautions determined by the Court), and jurors; and (f) Any other persons to whom all parties in writing agree, provided that such 8 9 persons have first been given a copy of this Order and have executed the form 10 attached as Exhibit A hereto. 11 12 8. 13 TECHNICAL ADVISERS 14 DISCLOSURE OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION TO EXPERTS AND The following applies for each expert and technical advisor described in 15 paragraphs 2.8 and 7.3(b) above to whom a Party desires to Disclose 16 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ EYES 17 ONLY” information or under the terms of this Order: 18 (a) Prior to any Confidential Information being Disclosed to any expert or 19 technical advisor, such expert or technical advisor shall first read this Protective 20 Order and sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 21 (b) At least five (5) business days prior to the Receiving Party disclosing 22 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ EYES 23 ONLY” information to any expert or technical advisor, the Receiving Party shall 24 deliver (by electronic mail) to the other Party: (1) a copy of the expert or technical 25 advisor’s signed “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound”; (2) the expert or 26 technical advisor’s resume or curriculum vitae; (3) identification of the expert or 27 technical advisor’s present employer, job title, and job description; (4) a list of all 28 cases in which the expert or technical advisor has testified at trial or deposition 13 1 within the last four years; and (5) identification of the expert or technical advisor’s 2 relationship, if any, to a Party in this action. (c) If a Party has a good faith basis for believing it would be harmed by the 3 4 proposed disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL- 5 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” information to the expert or technical advisor, the 6 Party shall be entitled to object to such disclosure within five (5) business days after 7 service of the information called for in paragraph 8(b). Objections must be in 8 writing and state with particularity the basis for the objection. (d) In the event of such an objection to disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” or 9 10 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” information, the 11 Parties shall meet and confer within three (3) business days to attempt to resolve the 12 concerns giving rise to the objection. If the Parties are unable to reach an agreement 13 regarding such disclosure, the Party objecting to disclosure may, within five (5) 14 business days of the meet and confer, initiate a request that the Court issue an order 15 barring such disclosure. The objecting Party shall have the burden of showing why 16 that person should not have access to “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY 17 CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” information. Pending resolution 18 of any such motion or application, no disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” or 19 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” information shall be 20 made to that person. The filing and pendency of such motion or application shall not 21 limit, delay, or defer any disclosures of “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY 22 CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” information to persons as to 23 whom no such objection has been made. 24 25 9. 26 IN OTHER LITIGATION 27 28 PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 14 1 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ EYES 2 ONLY,” that Party must: (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification 3 4 will include a copy of the subpoena or court order; (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order 5 6 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the 7 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification will include 8 a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and 9 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be 10 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with 11 12 the subpoena or court order will not produce any information designated in this 13 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ 14 EYES ONLY” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or 15 order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The 16 Designating Party will bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that 17 court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed 18 as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful 19 directive from another court. 20 21 10. 22 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 23 A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a 24 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY 25 CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” Such information produced by 26 Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief 27 provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as 28 prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 15 1 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to 2 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is 3 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s 4 confidential information, then the Party will: (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party 5 6 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality 7 agreement with a Non-Party; (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated 8 9 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably 10 specific description of the information requested; and (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the 11 12 Non-Party, if requested. 13 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party 15 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery 16 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party will 17 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the 18 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. 19 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party will bear the burden and expense 20 of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material. 21 22 23 11. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 24 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 25 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in 26 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts 27 to retrieve or destroy all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) Send a 28 copy of this Order and inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized 16 1 disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) request such person or 2 persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is 3 attached hereto as Exhibit A. 4 5 12. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 6 PROTECTED MATERIAL Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(e), the parties agree that (a) an 7 8 inadvertent production or disclosure of materials subject to a claim of privilege or 9 work product will not cause a waiver of such privilege or protection; and (b) if 10 either party inadvertently produces documents or materials subject to a claim of 11 such privilege or protection, the producing party will identify the inadvertent 12 disclosure and the receiving party will promptly return the materials and, in the case 13 of electronically-stored documents or materials, promptly delete and/or destroy 14 same and confirm compliance with this paragraph to opposing counsel. 15 16 17 18 13. MISCELLANEOUS 13.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 19 13.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 20 Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to 21 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this 22 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any 23 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order. 24 13.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 25 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may 26 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the 27 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material 28 17 1 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information 2 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court. 3 14. FINAL DISPOSITION 4 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60 5 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return 6 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in 7 this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, 8 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected 9 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving 10 Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same 11 person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies 12 (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or 13 destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, 14 abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any 15 of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to 16 retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing 17 transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert 18 reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such 19 materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or 20 constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in 21 Section 4 (DURATION). 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 18 1 15. Any willful violation of this Order may be punished by civil or criminal 2 contempt proceedings, financial or evidentiary sanctions, reference to disciplinary 3 authorities, or other appropriate action at the discretion of the Court. 4 5 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 6 7 DATED: December 30, 2024 /s/ Marissa B. Lewis Marissa B. Lewis MITCHELL SILBERBERG & KNUPP LLP Attorneys for Plaintiffs and CounterDefendants Mar Vista Entertainment, LLC, The Ninth House, LLC and Ninth Dark, LLC DATED: December 30, 2024 /s/ Michael Barer Michael Barer HAUG PARTNERS LLP Attorneys for Defendant and CounterComplainant THQ Nordic AB 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. 18 19 20 21 DATED:_______________ -DQXDU\ 7  _________________________________ +21 67(9( .,0 86 0$*,675$7( -8'*( 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 19 1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3 4 I, _____________________________ [full name], of _________________ 5 [full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and 6 understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States 7 District Court for the Central District of California on [date] in the case of 8 ___________ [insert case name and number]. I agree to comply with and to be 9 bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and 10 acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment 11 in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner 12 any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any 13 person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order. 14 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court 15 for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this 16 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after 17 termination of this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [full 18 name] of _______________________________________ [full address and 19 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with 20 this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective 21 Order. 22 Date: ______________________________________ 23 City and State where signed: _________________________________ 24 25 Printed name: _______________________________ 26 27 Signature: __________________________________ 28 20

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