Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation v. Adobe Inc.

Background

The court issued Pretrial Order No. 3 after a pretrial conference held on December 20, 2019. The case includes a related counterclaim. The order addresses preparation for the scheduled jury trial rather than deciding the parties’ underlying claims.

Trial schedule and time limits

The court confirmed that trial would proceed in Courtroom 1, with jury selection scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. on January 31, 2020. The remaining trial days were scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m., generally Monday through Thursday. Each party was allotted six days and twenty-seven hours to present its case, including opening statements and closing arguments. The court reserved one hour for each party’s closing argument and required the parties to monitor their remaining time.

The court scheduled another pretrial conference for January 24, 2020, and required the parties to submit a joint list of issues by January 15, unless no issues remained.

Evidence, witnesses, and trial procedures

The court ordered that witnesses be excluded until they completed their testimony. The parties could not refer to settlement discussions, mediation, insurance, or a party’s wealth except during a punitive-damages phase, if applicable. The parties had to inform their witnesses of these and other court rulings, and violations could result in sanctions, including striking a witness’s entire testimony.

The parties were limited to witnesses on their pretrial witness lists, unless the court allowed additional witnesses for good cause, including rebuttal or impeachment. They also had to provide a joint alphabetical list of witnesses, attorneys, and others involved in the trial for prospective jurors.

The parties had to update their exhibit lists by January 15, 2020, provide the court with exhibit files, and mark documents for identification before showing them to witnesses. The jury could not see an exhibit unless it had been admitted into evidence or the parties had stipulated to its admissibility, unless the court expressly permitted otherwise. The parties also had to maintain a running index of admitted exhibits and submit a proposed order concerning exhibit designations or stipulations.

The order set procedures for depositions and video depositions used at trial, including deadlines for lodging transcripts and resolving designations, counter-designations, and objections. It prohibited speaking objections and allowed written questions from jurors, which the court would share with counsel during breaks and place in the record. It also set procedures concerning jury composition, peremptory challenges, opening statements, expert disclosures, offers of judgment, and possible punitive-damages evidence.

Motions to seal

The court granted the pending motions to seal at Docket Numbers 252, 259, 265, 270, 273, 276, and 299 because they concerned licensing amounts, third-party licensing agreements, and source code. The court stated that neither party opposed denial of the motions at Docket Numbers 293 and 296, and denied those motions as moot.

For trial, the parties were ordered to assign non-numerical terms, such as “Rate A” or “the Cloud Letter Rate,” to the critical licensing amounts. Jurors and witnesses would have access to a reference document connecting those terms to the actual amounts. The parties had to submit a joint stipulation about the terms by January 15, 2020, and the stipulation could be filed under seal.

Mediation and enforcement

The court ordered the parties to participate in further private mediation before Judge Hochberg, to be completed by January 29, 2020. The parties had to promptly notify the court of any settlement. The trial and related dates would not be vacated until a formal notice of settlement was filed, and jury costs could be assessed if the parties did not proceed as scheduled without timely settlement notice.

The order required professional courtroom conduct and stated that failure to comply with its obligations could result in fines or terminating sanctions. It also stated that the order terminated Docket Numbers 252, 259, 265, 270, 273, 276, 293, 296, and 299.

Disposition

This is a procedural pretrial order. It set trial-management requirements, ruled on the identified motions to seal, ordered further mediation, and terminated the listed docket matters. It did not resolve the merits of Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation’s claims or Adobe Inc.’s related counterclaim.