Local Rule 2-1: Governing Procedure

2-1 Governing Procedure.

Rule 16 Scheduling Conference. When the parties confer pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f), in addition to the matters covered by Rule 26, the parties must discuss and address the following topics in the Joint Proposed Scheduling Plan filed pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f):

(a) Any proposed modification of the deadlines provided for in the Local Patent Rules, and the effect of any such modification on the date and time of any claim construction hearing;

(b) Whether the Court will hold a claim construction hearing and, if so, whether it will receive live testimony, deposition testimony, or other evidence at the hearing;

(c) If applicable, the scheduling of any claim construction prehearing conference to be held after the Joint Claim Construction Chart and Joint Prehearing Statement provided for in Local Patent R. 4-3 has been filed;

(d) The need for and any specific limits on discovery relating to claim construction, including depositions of fact witnesses and expert witnesses;

(e) Whether discovery should be conducted in stages, for example, whether only claim construction discovery should be taken before the Court's Claim Construction Ruling or whether discovery should otherwise be limited before such a ruling;

(f) Whether the parties should provide a tutorial to the Court concerning the technology at issue, including whether any such tutorial should be provided before any claim construction hearing; and

(g) The content of any protective order that should govern the case, including whether the Court's Form Protective Order (Appendix A) should be adopted in whole or in part; and what, if any, disputes exist regarding the final content of any such protective order.