SOS Co Inc et al v. E-Collar Technologies, Inc., et al, No. 2:2016cv09667 - Document 63 (C.D. Cal. 2018)

Court Description: ORDER GRANTING STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER by Magistrate Judge Alexander F. MacKinnon. 62 (sbou)

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SOS Co Inc et al v. E-Collar Technologies, Inc., et al Doc. 63 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 SOS CO., INC., et al., Plaintiffs, 12 13 Case No. 2:16-cv-09667-AB-AFM v. 14 E-COLLAR TECHNOLOGIES, INC., et al., 15 Defendants. 16 [PROPOSED] ORDER GRANTING STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 2131-1002 / 1104549.1 Dockets.Justia.com 1 PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 2 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of information that the 3 Producing Party claims is confidential, proprietary and/or and for which special 4 protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than 5 prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the Parties hereby 6 stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order 7 (“Order”). The Parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket 8 protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it 9 affords from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting 10 this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the Parties hereby stipulate to and 11 petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order (“Order”). The 12 Parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all 13 disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public 14 disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled 15 to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. 16 17 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 18 Given that this action concerns the alleged misappropriation of trade secrets, 19 the Parties recognize that the materials to be exchanged throughout the course of the 20 litigation between the Parties, as well as by third parties, not only may contain 21 customer, vendor and pricing lists, confidential research, cost, price, marketing, 22 technical, or other proprietary commercial information, as is contemplated by Fed. 23 R. Civ. P. 26(c)(1)(g), but also that the Producing Party asserts are trade secrets that, 24 for competitive reasons, is normally kept confidential by the respective Parties. 25 Specifically, the Parties may exchange documents and seek deposition testimony 26 relating to, among other things, manufacturing and production-related information, 27 technical information, financial records and information, sales information, quality 28 control and service information, strategic planning information, customer and 2131-1002 / 1104549.1 2 1 vendor information, marketing planning information, and/or information relating to 2 product development. The Parties respectfully submit that a protective order for 3 such information is justified in this matter. 4 Accordingly, this Order is designed to expedite the flow of information, to 5 minimize disruption or interference with the proceedings in this matter or in any 6 other litigation and to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over 7 confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the Parties 8 are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the Parties are permitted reasonable 9 necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to 10 address their handling at the end of the litigation, and to serve the ends of justice. 11 It is the intent of the Parties that information will not be designated as 12 confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good 13 faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and 14 there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case. 15 16 C. 17 18 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER SEAL The Parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this 19 Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Local Civil 20 Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will 21 be applied when a Party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal. 22 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial 23 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions, 24 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and 25 County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen. Motors 26 Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, 27 Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders 28 require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or compelling 2131-1002 / 1104549.1 3 1 reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be made with 2 respect to Protected Material that a Party seeks to file under seal. The Parties’ mere 3 designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not – 4 without the submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the 5 material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or 6 otherwise protectable – constitute good cause. 7 Further, if a Party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then 8 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the 9 relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. 10 See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For 11 each item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced 12 under seal in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the Party seeking 13 protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal 14 justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting 15 the application to file documents under seal must be provided by declaration. 16 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in 17 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. 18 If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting 19 only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, 20 shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their 21 entirety should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 22 23 2. DEFINITIONS 24 2.1 Action: This pending federal lawsuit, SOS Co., Inc., et al. v. E-Collar 25 Technologies, Inc., et al., Case No. 2:16-cv-09667-AB-AFM. 26 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the 27 designation of information or items under this Order. 28 2.3 2131-1002 / 1104549.1 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of 4 1 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for 2 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in 3 the Good Cause Statement. 4 2.4 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – OUTSIDE COUNSEL ONLY” 5 Information or Items: extremely sensitive CONFIDENTIAL Information or Items, 6 the disclosure of which to another Party or Non-Party would create a substantial risk 7 of serious competitive harm that could not be avoided by less restrictive means. 8 This type of information and items may include, for example, confidential trade 9 secrets, products not yet commercially released, inventions in progress, pending 10 patent applications, business/strategic plans, future sales/financial projections, 11 current and future marketing plans, detailed sales and financial data, product design 12 and development, confidential research and development, non-public customer and 13 vendor lists, potential future acquisitions, license and settlement agreements, 14 strategies for developing competitive products or achieving competitive advantage, 15 or other competitively sensitive business or technical information. Disclosure or 16 Discovery Material in this Action may be designated as “HIGHLY 17 CONFIDENTIAL - OUTSIDE COUNSEL ONLY” if the Producing Party or Non18 Party claims in good faith that such material warrants such a designation. The Party 19 receiving material designated “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL - OUTSIDE COUNSEL 20 ONLY” shall treat it as proprietary information and shall not use or disclose the 21 information except for the purposes set forth in this Order or by such orders as may 22 be issued by the Court during the course of this Action. 23 2.5 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as 24 their support staff). 25 2.6 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or 26 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 27 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL - OUTSIDE COUNSEL 28 ONLY.” 2131-1002 / 1104549.1 5 1 2.7 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless 2 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, 3 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or 4 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 5 2.8 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 6 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as 7 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 8 2.9 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a Party to this Action 9 or who act as in-house or general counsel for a Party. House Counsel does not 10 include Outside Counsel of Record. 11 2.10 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or 12 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 13 2.11 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a 14 Party but who have been retained to represent or advise a Party in this Action and 15 who have appeared in this Action on behalf of that Party or are affiliated with a law 16 firm that has appeared on behalf of that Party, including support staff. 17 2.12 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 18 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 19 support staffs). 20 2.13 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 21 Discovery Material in this Action. 22 2.14 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation 23 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 24 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) 25 and their employees and subcontractors. 26 2.15 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 27 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL - OUTSIDE 28 COUNSEL ONLY.” 2131-1002 / 1104549.1 6 1 2.16 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery 2 Material from a Producing Party. 3 4 3. SCOPE 5 The protections conferred by this Order cover not only Protected Material (as 6 defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected 7 Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; 8 and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel 9 that might reveal Protected Material. Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the 10 11 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 12 13 4. DURATION 14 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as 15 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL - OUTSIDE COUNSEL 16 ONLY” or maintained pursuant to this Order used or introduced as an exhibit at trial 17 becomes public and will be presumptively available to all members of the public, 18 including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings 19 to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See 20 Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing 21 documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits22 related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this Order do 23 not extend beyond the commencement of the trial. 24 25 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 26 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. 27 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under 28 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that 2131-1002 / 1104549.1 7 1 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for 2 protection only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written 3 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items 4 or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably 5 within the ambit of this Order. 6 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations 7 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 8 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose 9 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating 10 Party to sanctions. 11 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 12 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 13 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 14 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 15 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise 16 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection 17 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or 18 produced. 19 20 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 21 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 22 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend 23 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”) or “HIGHLY 24 CONFIDENTIAL - OUTSIDE COUNSEL ONLY” (hereinafter “HIGHLY 25 CONFIDENTIAL - OUTSIDE COUNSEL ONLY legend”), to each page that 26 contains protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for 27 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) 28 (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 2131-1002 / 1104549.1 8 1 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for 2 inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has 3 indicated which documents it would like copied and produced. During the 4 inspection and before the designation, all of the material made available for 5 inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has 6 identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must 7 determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this 8 Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must 9 affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL - OUTSIDE 10 COUNSEL ONLY legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a 11 portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also 12 must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings 13 in the margins). 14 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party 15 identifies the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the 16 deposition all protected testimony; provided, however, that the Designating Party 17 may invoke on the record – before the deposition, hearing, or other proceeding is 18 concluded – a right to have up to fourteen (14) days from the date the deposition 19 transcript is received by Outside Counsel of Record for the Designating Party to 20 identify the specific portions of the testimony as to which protection is sought and to 21 specify the level of protection being asserted. Only those portions of the testimony 22 that are appropriately designated for protection within the fourteen (14) days from 23 the date that the deposition transcript is received by Outside Counsel of Record for 24 the Designating Party shall be covered by the provisions of this Order. 25 The Designating Party will have the right to exclude from attendance at 26 any deposition only during such time as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY 27 CONFIDENTIAL – OUTSIDE COUNSEL ONLY” designated information is to be 28 disclosed any person who is not granted access to such material pursuant to the 2131-1002 / 1104549.1 9 1 terms of this Order. 2 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and 3 for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on 4 the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the 5 “CONFIDENTIAL legend” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL - OUTSIDE 6 COUNSEL ONLY legend.” If only a portion or portions of the information 7 warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the 8 protected portion(s). 9 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 10 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive 11 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. 12 A Producing Party that inadvertently fails to designate qualified information or 13 items shall, upon discovery, promptly notify the other Parties of the error in writing 14 and provide replacement pages bearing the appropriate confidentiality legend. Upon 15 timely receipt of such written notice, the Receiving Party shall destroy all copies of 16 the improperly marked material within ten (10) business days, along with any other 17 documents that contain such material. If the Receiving Party has disclosed such 18 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – OUTSIDE COUNSEL 19 ONLY” information before receiving the designation, the Receiving Party must 20 notify the Producing Party in writing of each such disclosure, and the Receiving 21 Party will make every effort to prevent further disclosure by the person(s) receiving 22 such inadvertently produced information. 23 A Party or Non-Party shall not use the inadvertent failure to designate 24 material under this Order to its advantage or refuse to destroy the material as 25 requested in the notice because it disputes the new designation. Any challenge to 26 the new designation is subject to the dispute resolution procedures set forth herein. 27 Unless and until any such failure to so designate is remedied in accordance with 28 these provisions, no Party shall be responsible for the disclosure of 2131-1002 / 1104549.1 10 1 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – OUTSIDE COUNSEL 2 ONLY” information if the information in question was not identified as such in 3 accordance with this Order. 4 5 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 6 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 7 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s 8 Scheduling Order. 6.2 9 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute 10 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1, et seq. 6.3 11 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a 12 Joint Stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2. 6.4 13 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on 14 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper 15 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other 16 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating 17 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all Parties shall 18 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is 19 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the 20 challenge. 21 22 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 23 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 24 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 25 Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such 26 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the 27 conditions described in this Order. When this Action has been terminated, a 28 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL 2131-1002 / 1104549.1 11 1 DISPOSITION). 2 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 3 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 4 authorized under this Order. 5 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 6 otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 7 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 8 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 9 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as 10 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably 11 necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 12 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of 13 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary to provide 14 assistance in the conduct of this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment 15 and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 16 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 17 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 18 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 19 (d) the Court and its personnel; 20 (e) court reporters and their staff; 21 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 22 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have 23 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 24 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or 25 a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 26 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in 27 the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing 28 Party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) 2131-1002 / 1104549.1 12 1 they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the 2 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise 3 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed 4 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may 5 be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except 6 as permitted under this Order; and 7 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 8 mutually agreed upon by the Parties or designated by the Court engaged in 9 settlement discussions. 10 7.3 Disclosure of “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – OUTSIDE COUNSEL 11 ONLY” Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted 12 in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information 13 or item designated “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – OUTSIDE COUNSEL ONLY” 14 only to: 15 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record, as well as 16 employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to 17 disclose the information for this Action; 18 (b) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 19 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 20 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 21 (c) the Court and its personnel; 22 (d) court reporters and their staff; 23 (e) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 24 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have 25 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 26 (f) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or 27 a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; and 28 (g) 2131-1002 / 1104549.1 any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 13 1 mutually agreed upon by the Parties or designated by the Court engaged in 2 settlement discussions. 3 4 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED 5 IN OTHER LITIGATION 6 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 7 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 8 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – OUTSIDE COUNSEL 9 ONLY,” that Party must: 10 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification 11 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 12 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or 13 order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the 14 subpoena or order is subject to this Order. Such notification shall include a copy of 15 this Order; and 16 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be 17 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 18 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with 19 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this 20 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – OUTSIDE 21 COUNSEL ONLY” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or 22 order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The 23 Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that 24 court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed 25 as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful 26 directive from another court. No Party or Counsel who has received 27 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – OUTSIDE COUNSEL 28 ONLY” information pursuant to this Order shall aid or encourage a party to any 2131-1002 / 1104549.1 14 1 other litigation to subpoena or otherwise seek to obtain information subject to this 2 Order. 3 4 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 5 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 6 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a 7 Non-Party to this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY 8 CONFIDENTIAL – OUTSIDE COUNSEL ONLY.” Such information produced by 9 Non-Parties in connection with this Action is protected by the remedies and relief 10 provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as 11 prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 12 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to 13 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is 14 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s 15 confidential information, then the Party shall: 16 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non- 17 Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality 18 agreement with a Non-Party; 19 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of this Order, the 20 relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific description of the 21 information requested; and 22 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the 23 Non-Party, if requested. 24 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this Court 25 within fourteen (14) days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the 26 Receiving Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive 27 to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the 28 Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control that is 2131-1002 / 1104549.1 15 1 subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination 2 by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the 3 burden and expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material. 4 5 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 Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the Designating 9 Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all 10 unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to 11 whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) 12 request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to 13 Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 14 15 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 16 PROTECTED MATERIAL 17 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 18 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, 19 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 20 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever 21 procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production 22 without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and 23 (e), insofar as the Parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a 24 communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work 25 product protection, the Parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated 26 protective order submitted to the court. 27 28 2131-1002 / 1104549.1 16 1 12. MISCELLANEOUS 2 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any 3 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 4 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 5 Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or 6 producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this Order. 7 Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any ground to use in evidence of 8 any of the material covered by this Order. Furthermore, by stipulating to the entry 9 of this Order, no Party shall be deemed to waive any right to challenge or dispute 10 whether the information subject to this Order constitutes protectable trade secrets 11 under California Civil Code §3426, et seq. In like manner, a party’s designation of 12 material pursuant to this Order does not constitute an admission that the material in 13 questions constitutes a trade secret under California Civil Code §3426, et seq. 14 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 15 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material 16 may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the 17 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material 18 under seal is denied by the Court, then the Receiving Party may file the information 19 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the Court. 20 12.4 Court and Court Personnel. The Court and its personnel are not subject 21 to this Order and are not required to sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to 22 Be Bound” (Exhibit A). 23 12.5 Retention of Acknowledgement Forms. Outside Counsel of Record for 24 each Party shall retain the signed “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” 25 forms they obtain, as provided for under this Order. 26 27 28 12.6 Disputes After Termination of Action. After termination of this Action, the provisions of this Order shall continue to be binding except with respect 2131-1002 / 1104549.1 17 1 to those documents and information that become a matter of public record. This 2 Court retains and shall have continuing jurisdiction over the Parties and recipients of 3 the Protected Material for enforcement of this Order following termination of this 4 litigation. All disputes concerning Protected Material provided or produced under 5 the protection of this Order shall be resolved by the United States District Court for 6 the Central District of California. 7 8 13. 9 FINAL DISPOSITION After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 10 sixty (60) days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party 11 must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. 12 As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, 13 compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the 14 Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the 15 Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if 16 not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the sixty (60) day 17 deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected 18 Material that was returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has 19 not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format 20 reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this 21 provision, Outside Counsel of Record are entitled to retain an archival copy of all 22 pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal 23 memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney 24 work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials 25 contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute 26 Protected Material remain subject to this Order as set forth in Section 4 27 (DURATION). 28 2131-1002 / 1104549.1 18 1 2 14. VIOLATION 3 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures 4 including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions. 5 6 Dated: 3/12/ 2018 Alexander F. MacKinnon United States Magistrate Judge 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 2131-1002 / 1104549.1 19 1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3 I, ______________________________ [print or type full name], of _______ 4 ______________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I 5 have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was 6 issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California on 7 _____________, 2018 in the case of SOS Co., Inc., et al. v. E-Collar Technologies, 8 Inc., et al., Case No. 2:16-cv-09667-AB-AFM. 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 Stipulated 14 Protective Order. 15 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court 16 for the Central District of California for enforcing the terms of this Stipulated 17 Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of 18 this action. I hereby appoint ____________________ [print or type full name] of 19 _______________________ [print or type full address and telephone number] as 20 my California agent for service of process in connection with this action or any 21 proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order. 22 Date: 23 City and State where sworn and signed: 24 25 Printed name: 26 Signature: 27 28 2131-1002 / 1104549.1 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 2131-1002 / 1104549.1 21

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