Apple Inc. v. Rivos, Inc.

Background

Apple sought expedited discovery as part of its request for a temporary restraining order in a trade-secret misappropriation case. The request concerned Rivos, Inc. and Wen Shih-Chieh, also known as Ricky Wen. District Judge Edward J. Davila referred the discovery dispute to Magistrate Judge Nathanael M. Cousins.

Before the hearing, the parties agreed to a stipulation concerning document preservation and forensic inspection relating to Wen. Rivos and Wen moved to dismiss the complaint, and Apple indicated that it might file an amended complaint. Apple also stated at the hearing that it would defer its requests for early depositions of Wen and Rivos.

Legal standard

The court applied a “good cause” standard for expedited discovery. Good cause exists when the need for early discovery, considering the administration of justice, outweighs the prejudice to the responding party. The court found that Apple had shown good cause, but concluded that all of Apple’s requested discovery was not proportional to the case’s needs at that stage.

Rulings on discovery requests

- Early deposition of Puneet Kumar: Granted. Kumar is identified as Rivos’s co-founder and CEO and had submitted a declaration opposing Apple’s temporary-restraining-order request. The deposition was limited to three hours and to topics covered in that declaration. It had to be completed by August 5, 2022, and the parties were ordered to cooperate in scheduling it. - Search of devices and accounts identified in paragraphs 27–36 of the Roffman declaration: Denied. The court found the request overly broad and intrusive and found that Apple had not shown that Rivos possessed, controlled, or had custody of all the devices and accounts, or that those devices and accounts were reasonably likely to contain relevant information. - Forensic image of employee X’s backup: Granted. Rivos was ordered to provide the forensic vendor FTI with a forensic image of the backup by July 15, 2022. The parties were ordered to agree on a search protocol by July 22, 2022. - Rivos’s request for forensic information from Apple: Granted. Apple was ordered to produce forensic information concerning former Apple employees who were then working at Rivos. After Apple produced the information, Rivos was ordered to search for and sequester information within its possession, custody, or control.

Except as provided in the order, Apple’s request for expedited discovery was denied. Discovery could otherwise proceed under the applicable Rules of Civil Procedure. The court awarded no fees or costs.

Disposition

The order granted in part and denied in part Apple’s request for expedited discovery. It also granted Rivos’s request for forensic information from Apple. Magistrate Judge Nathanael M. Cousins entered the order on July 8, 2022.