Intellectual Property Law

Magistrate Judge Joel Schneider: Production of Translated Documents

By Karen E. Keller, Andrew A. Lundgren et al.

Magistrate Judge Schneider sitting by designation from the District of New Jersey recently held that a plaintiff is required to produce translated documents for any document it translates in the ordinary course of business, as well as all answers to discovery and accompanying summaries and charts. Evonik Degussa GmbH v. Materia Inc., C.A. No. 09-636-NLH/JS, Letter Order (D. Del. Dec. 21, 2010). The plaintiff is not required to produce translated copies of documents that were translated solely for the purposes of litigation because they are protected by the work product doctrine. Id. Although plaintiff is not required to produce the document, they are required to identify the nature, type and categories of the foreign documents it produced, specify by Bates number the documents responsive to defendants? document requests and identify the sources of documents. Id. at 2. This information will allow the defendants to make ?an informed decision whether to translate a document.? Id.

Evonik Degussa GmbH v. Materia Inc., C.A. No. 09-636-NLH/JS, Letter Order (D. Del. Dec. 21, 2010).

Full post as published by Delaware IP Law Blog on December 29, 2010 (boomark / email).