The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences v. Multimedia System Design

Background

The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Inc. and Academy of Television Arts & Sciences are the plaintiffs. Multimedia System Design, Inc., doing business as “Crowdsource the Truth,” is the defendant. Multimedia System Design, Inc. and Jason Goodman are also identified as counterclaim plaintiffs, and the two Academy entities are identified as counterclaim defendants.

The parties, through counsel, agreed to a protective order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c). They sought protection for nonpublic and competitively sensitive information that might be disclosed during discovery, meaning the exchange of information and evidence before trial. The court found good cause for an appropriately limited confidentiality order covering the pretrial phase of the case.

Order

The court issued the stipulated protective order. It allows a producing party to designate only the portion of discovery material that it reasonably and in good faith believes contains certain previously undisclosed information, including:

- Financial information, such as profitability reports, fees, royalties, guarantees, sales reports, and margins; - Information about ownership or control of a nonpublic company; - Business plans, contracts, leases, product information, business procedures, product-development information, and marketing plans; - Personal or intimate information about an individual; or - Other information that the court later gives confidential status.

The order requires confidential material generally to be clearly marked, with a redacted copy produced for future public use. For depositions, confidential designations may be made on the record or in writing within 30 days after the deposition. During that 30-day period, the entire deposition transcript must be treated as confidential.

A producing party may later designate material that was initially produced without a confidentiality designation by notifying prior recipients in writing. The order does not waive objections to discovery, privileges or other protections, or objections to the admissibility of evidence at trial.

Disclosure and use limits

Confidential material may be disclosed only to the categories of people listed in the order. These include the parties and their insurers, counsel and litigation support staff, outside vendors working on the case, mediators or arbitrators, certain people identified in documents, possible witnesses, experts and specialized advisers, deposition transcription staff, and the court and its personnel.

Mediators or arbitrators, possible witnesses, experts, and specialized advisers must first receive the order and sign a nondisclosure agreement. Counsel must keep those signed agreements and produce them to opposing counsel either before the person testifies or at the end of the case, whichever comes first.

Recipients may use confidential material only to prosecute or defend this case and any appeals. They may not use it for business, commercial, competitive, or unrelated litigation purposes. The order does not restrict a party's rights concerning its own documents or information. It also permits disclosure in response to a lawful subpoena or other compulsory process, subject to notice requirements and the producing party's opportunity to oppose disclosure.

Court filings and challenges

A party objecting to a confidentiality designation may give written notice stating the specific grounds for the objection. A party seeking additional disclosure limits, such as an attorneys' eyes-only restriction in extraordinary circumstances, may also give written notice stating the specific grounds. If the parties cannot promptly resolve the dispute, counsel must present it to the court.

A party filing documents under seal must simultaneously submit a letter brief and supporting declaration explaining, on a particularized basis, why continued sealing is justified. The order states that the court may unseal documents if it cannot make specific findings that closure is essential to preserve higher values and narrowly tailored to serve that interest. The court retains discretion over whether confidential treatment will be given to material submitted in connection with a motion or other proceeding that may result in a court order or decision. The order warns that material introduced at trial is unlikely to remain sealed.

For confidential court submissions, the parties must publicly file a redacted copy and file the unredacted copy under seal, while also providing unredacted courtesy copies to the court and opposing counsel.

After the case

Within 60 days after final resolution of the case, including all appeals, recipients must return confidential material to the producing party or destroy it if the producing party permits destruction. Recipients must certify in writing that they retained no copies or other reproductions, including abstracts, compilations, or summaries. Counsel specifically retained for the case may keep an archival copy of specified case materials, but any confidential information in those copies remains subject to the order.

The order remains binding after the litigation ends. The court retains jurisdiction over people subject to the order as necessary to enforce its obligations or impose contempt sanctions. Judge Valerie E. Caproni signed the order as “SO ORDERED” on December 18, 2020.