UMG Recordings, Inc. et al v. Suno, Inc. et al

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
UMG RECORDINGS, INC., CAPITOL
RECORDS, LLC, AND SONY MUSIC
ENTERTAINMENT,
Plaintiffs,
v.
SUNO, INC., and JOHN DOES 1-10,
Defendant.
Case No. 1:24-cv-11611-FDS
STIPULATED ORDER REGARDING DEPOSITION PROTOCOL
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I. 	PURPOSE
1. 	This Stipulation and Order Regarding Deposition Protocol (“Deposition Protocol
Order”) shall govern depositions of Plaintiffs, Defendant, and non-parties in this case as a
supplement to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and any other applicable orders and local
rules. Nothing in this Order is intended to expand or limit the Parties’ obligations under the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure shall govern the
depositions of non-party witnesses unless otherwise stated in this Order or agreed-to by the
Parties and the non-party witness.
2. 	All Parties reserve the right to seek relief from the Court from any provision in
this Deposition Protocol Order for good cause shown.
II. 	GENERAL DEPOSITION PROCEDURES
3. 	Time for Depositions. In accordance with Rule 30(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure and Local Rule 26.1(c), the Parties agree that each side is entitled to take 100
hours of deposition testimony for party depositions, and 60 hours of deposition testimony for
non-party depositions. Once a Party reaches the hour limit, any additional hours may only be
extended by agreement of the Parties or upon order of the Court for good cause shown. The
Parties must first meet and confer prior to seeking leave of court.
4. 	Deposition Duration. In accordance with Rule 30(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure, the duration of depositions for all fact witnesses, shall be limited to seven (7) hours
on the record, except depositions of witnesses who are designated as corporate representatives
pursuant to Rule 30(b)(6). For an individual witness that is designated as both a Rule 30(b)(1)
and Rule 30(b)(6) deponent, the deposing Party shall have up to two (2) additional hours on the
record with that individual witness, and shall have the right to request additional hours prior to
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the deposition if needed. Depositions shall be conducted in a single day unless otherwise agreed
by the Parties and in no event shall a witness designated as a 30(b)(6) witness sit for more than
two days. These time limits may be extended by agreement of the Parties or upon order of the
Court for good cause shown. For witnesses testifying in both a 30(b)(6) and 30(b)(1) capacity,
the taking Party must clearly designate on the record whether they are starting with questioning
in the witnesses’ 30(b)(1) or 30(b)(6) capacity.
5. 	Deposition Participation. No individual, except for in-house counsel who have
been designated to receive Highly Confidential information pursuant to Section 14(b) of the
parties’ amended Protective Order (Dkt. 180), attorneys taking, defending, or assisting with the
deposition, an attorney who has been retained by the witness, or testifying or consulting experts
who have been disclosed pursuant to Section 17 of the parties’ amended Protective Order (Dkt.
180) at least seven (7) business days prior to the deposition, will be physically present in the
same room as the witness while the witness is giving deposition testimony on the record. To the
extent any documents introduced as exhibits have been designated as “Highly Confidential –
Outside Counsel Only” pursuant to the Parties’ amended Protective Order (Dkt. 180) in-house
counsel must excuse themselves from the examination room until questioning on those
documents is complete. To the extent any documents introduced as exhibits have been
designated as “Highly Confidential – Attorneys’ Eyes Only” (“AEO”) pursuant to the parties’
amended Protective Order (Dkt. 180) in-house counsel who have not been designated to receive
AEO materials pursuant to paragraph 13(b) of the Protective Order must excuse themselves from
the examination room until questioning on those documents is complete.
6. 	Non-Party Witnesses.
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a. 	The Parties agree that this Deposition Protocol Order applies to depositions of non-
parties under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45 and shall confer about scheduling
depositions of non-parties. The Party noticing any non-party depositions shall
provide this Deposition Protocol Order to counsel for any non-party under Rule 45 at
least seven (7) calendar days before the start of the deposition. This Deposition
Protocol Order does not restrict the ability of any non-party to seek relief from any
provisions contained herein based upon their individual circumstances.
b. 	All third-party depositions will be limited to seven (7) hours on the record. For cross-
noticed non-party witness depositions, the parties will meet and confer at least
fourteen (14) days before the scheduled deposition or as soon as possible if that is not
practicable regarding the amount of time required by each party. The parties agree to
work in good faith to determine a reasonable division of the provided seven (7) hours
on the record. If additional time is needed, the Parties can (i) agree, with the consent
of the witness, to enlarge the time for the deposition to ensure that a second
deposition is not necessary, or (ii) seek Court intervention.
c. 	For cross-noticed depositions, the Parties agree that the Party that first issued the
deposition notice or subpoena will proceed first, followed by the subsequent noticing
Party.
5. 	Examination and Cross-Examination Procedures for Party Depositions. After
questioning by the noticing Party, the Party defending the deposition may elect to question the
deponent. For avoidance of doubt, the hours limitations discussed herein do not prevent a Party
from engaging in reasonable redirect examination. If the defending Party elects to question the
deponent, then the noticing Party shall be entitled to perform re-cross examination, which shall
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be limited in scope to the matters covered by the defending Party. Following any re-cross
examination, the Party defending the deposition shall be entitled to perform re-direct
examination, which shall be limited in scope to the matters covered by the noticing Party on re-
cross examination.
6. 	Deposition Exhibits. 	For the avoidance of doubt, the deposing Party may not
introduce as an exhibit any documents produced by a Party with no affiliation to the deponent that
has been designated as “Highly Confidential – Outside Counsel Only” or AEO unless permitted
under the terms of the Amended Protective Order (Dkt. 180), or with provided express written
permission by the producing Party or its attorney before the deposition begins.
III. 	SCHEDULING AND LOCATION OF DEPOSITIONS
7. 	The Parties shall confer about the scheduling of a deposition before noticing a
deposition. Party deposition notices shall comply with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30(b).
To the extent not already scheduled, within ten (10) days of service of a deposition notice
opposing counsel must provide available dates and times. If opposing counsel fails to respond to
the request, the requesting Party may notice the deposition for a specific date. The Parties and
non-parties shall make all reasonable efforts to accommodate reasonable requests to reschedule
depositions.
8. 	If a Party seeks to cross-notice a non-party deposition, that Party must notify the
noticing Party within seven (7) business days of receiving the notice. The Parties shall then
confer about scheduling.
9. 	Unless otherwise agreed, depositions will occur in-person, with the witness and
each of counsel noticing and defending the deposition in the same room. When scheduling a
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deposition, counsel will confer in good faith to schedule depositions at a time and location
convenient for the witness.
IV. 	REMOTE DEPOSITION PROCEDURES
11. 	Consent and Notification for Remote Deposition. If the witness, witness’s
counsel, and the Party taking the deposition all agree, the deposition may occur remotely and
shall be deemed a “Remote Deposition.” Any Party may notice a Remote Deposition by so
indicating in the notice of deposition. If a deposition was previously anticipated or agreed to be
an in-person deposition, the noticing Party, the witness, or the witness’s counsel may request that
the deposition be changed to a Remote Deposition. Such a request to change the format for the
deposition should be provided as soon as reasonably practicable. If the witness, witness’s
counsel, and the Party taking the deposition all agree to change the format to a Remote
Deposition, the Parties will work cooperatively and timely to arrange the logistics required for
the change in format of the deposition.
12. 	Communications with the Deponent. No individual, except for in-house counsel
who are not witnesses in this case, attorneys defending the deposition, or an attorney who has
been retained by the witness, will be physically present in the same room as the witness while the
witness is giving deposition testimony on the record. To the extent counsel intends to be in the
same room as the witness during the deposition, this will be clearly disclosed by counsel on the
record at the start of the deposition. During live testimony on the record, no one, including
attorneys, shall communicate in any manner with the deponent in any way that cannot be heard
or seen by all Participants to the deposition. All attorneys defending the deposition must remain
on camera at all times during live testimony.
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13. 	Presence of Court Reporter and Administration of Required Oath. For a Remote
Deposition, the Parties agree that a court reporter may administer the oath to a witness remotely,
even if the court reporter is not in the physical presence of the witness. Further, if a court
reporter is not authorized to take oaths in the place of examination pursuant to Rule 28, the
Parties agree that the circumstances warrant proceeding with the administration of such oaths
remotely and that the transcripts may be used by or against all Parties in this litigation to the
same extent that would otherwise be permissible under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and
the Federal Rules of Evidence, and the Parties agree not to object to the use of these video
recordings on the basis that the deposition was taken remotely. The Parties reserve all other
objections to the use of any deposition testimony at trial, and further reserve any objections
related to technical difficulties such as inability to hear a question or answer. The Parties,
however, shall work in good faith to address and resolve all technical difficulties at any Remote
Deposition.
14. 	Deposition Participation. The designated deposition service provider will provide
invitations and access to the remote deposition to the witness and all attorneys participating in
the deposition, including, as requested, counsel of record, personal counsel for the witness, or in-
house counsel for Defendant or a non-party witness (collectively, the “Participants”).
15. 	Waiver of Authenticity Objections. The Parties agree, pursuant to Federal Rule of
Civil Procedure 29(a), that the recorded video provided by the court reporting service and/or
platform vendor may be used as if it were a recording prepared by a certified videographer, and
that each side will waive any objections based on authenticity.
16. 	Recording and Other Technical Logistics.
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a. 	Every deponent shall endeavor to have technology sufficient to appear for a
videotaped deposition (e.g., a webcam and computer or telephone audio), and
bandwidth sufficient to sustain the Remote Deposition. Counsel for each
deponent shall consult with the deponent prior to the deposition to ensure the
deponent has the required technology. If not, counsel for the deponent shall
endeavor to supply it prior to the deposition. In the case of non-party
witnesses, counsel noticing the deposition shall supply any necessary
technology that the deponent does not have.
b. 	Remote Depositions shall be recorded by stenographic means consistent with
the requirements of Rule 30(b)(3), and the court reporter’s transcript shall
constitute the official record. The legal services vendor will record the
deponent’s video feed and the audio of all participants during the deposition,
and will preserve the audio and video recording. The court reporter may be
given a copy of the video recording and may review the video recording to
improve the accuracy of any written transcript.
c. 	To the extent possible, the video conferencing service should display the
witness, defending counsel, and deposing counsel on the video screen at all
times unless one or more counsel must be taken off-screen to display an
exhibit. The witness should always be visible on screen. There should be no
unrecorded or unnoted conversations between the witness and any counsel
during a Remote Deposition while the witness is on the record.
d. 	A Party that notices a Remote Deposition is responsible for arranging the use
of an appropriate remote deposition video platform and, if necessary, for the
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witness to participate in a “test run” of the platform software at the expense of
the noticing Party. Details regarding the remote deposition platform will be
made available to all Parties at least three (3) business days before the
deposition. Within 24-hours of the commencement of any Remote
Deposition, the noticing Party shall confirm that the defending Party’s counsel
and the witness have received the vendor-provided links to the remote
deposition video platform and access to Realtime where requested.
e. 	If audio or technical issues impact the ability to proceed with the Remote
Deposition, the deposition shall be recessed until the technical issue is
resolved. If the technical issue cannot be resolved in a timely manner, then
the Parties will meet and confer in good faith to address the problem,
including but not limited to rescheduling the deposition. The Parties will also
act in good faith to account for any time lost to technical issues to permit the
deposing Party to use the full time permitted for the deposition.
17. 	Electronic Exhibits & Hard Copy Exhibits.
a. 	The Parties agree that any of the following methods for administering exhibits may be
employed during a Remote Deposition, or a combination of one or more methods:
i. 	Counsel noticing the deposition may choose to send physical copies of documents
that may be used during the deposition to the deponent, the deponent’s counsel,
the other Party’s counsel, and the court reporter. In that event, noticing counsel
shall inform the deponent’s counsel, the other Party’s counsel, and the court
reporter prior to mailing the documents and shall provide tracking information for
the package. Such documents shall be delivered by 12:00 pm ET the business day
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before the deposition. Counsel for the deponent, the other Party’s counsel, and
the court reporter shall confirm receipt of the package by electronic mail to
Counsel noticing the deposition. If physical copies are mailed, every recipient of
a mailed package shall keep the package sealed until the deposition begins and
shall only unseal the package on the record, on video, and during the deposition
when directed to do so by the counsel taking the deposition. This same procedure
shall apply to any physical copies of documents any other counsel intends to use
for examining the witness.
ii. 	Counsel noticing the deposition may choose to send a compressed .zip file of the
documents that may be used during the deposition via electronic mail to the
deponent, the deponent’s counsel, the other Party’s counsel, and the court
reporter. The .zip file shall be delivered by 12:00 pm ET the business day before
the deposition. Counsel for the deponent, the other Party’s counsel, and the court
reporter shall confirm receipt of the .zip file by electronic mail to Counsel
noticing the deposition. The .zip file shall be password protected, and counsel
taking the deposition shall supply the password via electronic email immediately
prior to the commencement of the deposition. Every recipient of a .zip file shall
not open the .zip file until the deposition begins and when directed to do so by the
counsel taking the deposition. If sending documents by electronic mail, counsel
will be mindful of file size limitations, which presumptively should be less than
50 MB.
iii. 	Counsel may introduce exhibits electronically during the deposition, by using
Exhibit Share within the videoconferencing platform, or chat box, or by sending
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the exhibit to the deponent and all individuals on the record via electronic mail.
The witness and counsel will have access to the full exhibit within Exhibit Share
for access and review during the deposition.
b. 	All deponents receiving physical copies of documents before a deposition, pursuant to
Paragraph 18(a)(i), shall return the documents to the counsel who sent them
originally, within two (2) business days following the completion of the deposition,
and shall not retain them in any manner. Counsel noticing the deposition shall
include a pre-paid return shipping label in any package of documents mailed to a
deponent.
V. 	DISPUTES
19. 	If a dispute arises during a deposition, prior to contacting the Court, the primary
examining and primary defending attorneys at the deposition must first meet and confer to
attempt to resolve the issue. If the dispute remains, the Parties may then jointly contact the
Court. The Parties will alert the court reporter to be prepared to read the deposition question and
answer at issue to the Court. If the Court is not available, and to the extent the Parties are still
unable to resolve the dispute, the deposition shall continue as to matters not in dispute with full
reservation of rights for a ruling at the earliest possible time.
20. 	Nothing in this Deposition Protocol Order shall deny counsel the right to (1)
suspend a deposition pursuant to Rule 30(d)(3); or (2) file an appropriate motion with the Court
after the deposition.
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VI. 	COST ALLOCATION
21. 	For the avoidance of doubt, the Party issuing the deposition notice shall be fully
responsible for the court reporter and videographer costs. The Parties shall share these costs for
cross-noticed depositions.
VII. 	STANDARD STIPULATIONS
22. The stipulation in this Section will apply to all depositions taken in this action, and
shall be included in each transcript by the court reporter.
23. The court reporter shall deliver a certified copy of the transcript of each deposition to
counsel for the witness (or, if the witness is not represented by counsel, to the witness directly).
Counsel for the witness shall promptly forward the transcript to the witness for review,
correction, and signature under penalty of perjury. Within thirty (30) days of receiving the
transcript from the court reporter, the witness’s counsel (or the witness, as applicable) shall then
forward any corrections to the court reporter, who will promptly notify all counsel of its receipt
and any errata. The deadline for providing corrections may be extended by agreement of the
Parties.
24. The confidentiality designations of deposition transcripts, including exhibits, shall be
governed by the Amended Protective Order in this Action, Dkt. 180 or any amended version
thereof. The Amended Protective Order (or any further amended version thereof) shall also
govern the conduct of Parties during the deposition, including any Parties who elect to attend
depositions.
25. Any witness who submits errata must do so in accordance with Rule 30(e)(2).
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26. The court reporter will provide the original transcript to the first examining attorney.
If for any reason, the original transcript is lost, misplaced, not returned, not signed, or
unavailable, a certified copy may be used in its place for all purposes.
DATED: March 18, 2026 	SO STIPULATED AND AGREED
s/ Rajan S. Trehan
Rajan S. Trehan (pro hac vice)
Christina Rayburn (pro hac vice)
Robert N. Klieger (pro hac vice)
HUESTON HENNIGAN LLP
523 	West 	6th 	Street, 	Suite 	400
Los 	Angeles, 	California 	90014
Telephone: (213) 788-4340
Facsimile: (888) 775-0898
rtrehan@hueston.com
crayburn@hueston.com
rklieger@hueston.com
Moez M. Kaba (pro hac vice)
Mariah N. Rivera (pro hac vice)
Alexander R. Perry (pro hac vice)
HUESTON HENNIGAN LLP
1 Little West 12th Street
New York, New York 10014
Telephone: (646) 930-4046
Facsimile: (888) 775-0898
mkaba@hueston.com
mrivera@hueston.com
aperry@hueston.com
Daniel J. Cloherty
Alexandra Arnold
CLOHERTY & STEINBERG LLP
One Financial Center, Suite 1120
Boston, Massachusetts 02110
Telephone: (617) 481-0160
Facsimile: (617) 848-0830
dcloherty@clohertysteinberg.com
aarnold@clohertysteinberg.com
Counsel for Plaintiffs
s/ Brittany N. Lovejoy
Brittany N. Lovejoy (pro hac vice)
Andrew M. Gass (pro hac vice)
LATHAM & WATKINS LLP
505 Montgomery Street
Suite 2000
San Francisco, CA 94111-6538
Telephone: (415) 391-0600
Facsimile: (415) 395-8095
brittany.lovejoy@lw.com
andrew.gass@lw.com
Steven N. Feldman (pro hac vice)
Nathan Taylor (pro hac vice)
LATHAM & WATKINS LLP
1271 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
Telephone: (212) 906-1200
Facsimile: (212) 751-4864
steve.feldman@lw.com
nathan.taylor@lw.com
Sarang V. Damle (pro hac vice)
LATHAM & WATKINS LLP
555 Eleventh Street, NW Suite 1000
Washington, D.C. 20004-1304
Telephone: (202) 637-2200
Facsimile: (202) 637-2201
sy.damle@lw.com
Counsel for Defendant Suno, Inc.
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SO ORDERED this 25th day of March, 2026
THE HONORABLE PAUL G. LEVENSON
United States Magistrate Judge
/s/ Paul G. Levenson
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