The Football Association Premi v. Youtube, Inc.

Filing 383

FRAP 28(j) LETTER, dated 08/26/2011, on behalf of Appellant Alley Music Corporation, Bourne Co., Cal IV Entertainment, LLC, Cherry Lane Music Publishing Company, Inc., Edward B. Marks Music Company, Federation Francaise De Tennis, Freddy Bienstock Music Company, Murbo Music Publishing, Inc., National Music Publishers' Association, Sin-Drome Records, Ltd., Stage Three Music (US), Inc., The Football Association Premier League Limited, The Music Force LLC, The Music Force Media Group LLC, The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization and X-Ray Dog Music, Inc., RECEIVED. Service date 08/26/2011 by CM/ECF.[376371] [10-3342]

Charles S. Sims
Member of the Firm
cI

212.969.3950

f 212.969.2900
csims@proskauer. corn
www. proskauer. corn

August 26. 2011

Via KCF
Ms. Deborah Holmes
Case Manager, Clerk's Office
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Thurgood Marshall U. S. Courthouse
40 Foley Square
New York, NY 10007
Re:
The Football Ass 'n Premier League et al. v. YouTube, Inc. et al. , No. 10-3342
Viacom International Inc. et al. v. YouTube Inc. et al. No. 10-3270

Dear Ms. Holmes:

Please have the attached Rule 28(j) letter e-filed in the docket of The Football Association case.

The letter was e-filed in the Viacom International case earlier today, and as the last line reflects, it
is being submitted on behalf of the appellants in the Football Association case as well.

Charles

S. Sims

Attachment

Boca Raton

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Case: 10-3270

Document: 443

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Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

1050 Connecticut

Avenue,

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20036-5306
Tel 202. 955, 8500
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DC

www. gibsondunn. corn

Theodore B. Olson
Direct: +1 202.955.8668
Fax [phone]
TOlson@gibsondunn. corn

August 26, 2011

VIA ECF

Ms. Deborah Holmes
Case Manager, Clerk's Office
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Thurgood Marshall U. S. Courthouse
40 Foley Square
New York, NY 10007

Re:

Viacom International, Inc. et al. v. YouTube, Inc. et al. , No. 10-3270
The Football Ass 'n Premier League et al. v. YouTube, Inc. et al. , No. 10-3342

Dear Ms. Holmes:
Pursuant to FRAP 28(j), I write to advise the Court of the applicability of its recent decision
in United States v. Ferguson, No. 08-6211, to the above-captioned cases. In Ferguson, the
Court reaffirmed that even a criminal statute may be violated "knowingly" if the violator
"'was aware of a high probability of the fact in dispute and consciously avoided confirming
that fact. '" Slip op. 31-32 (quoting United States v. guattrone, 441 F.3d 153, 181 (2d Cir.
2006)). The Court explicitly invoked the Supreme Court's recent decision in Global-Tech
Appliances, Inc. v. SEB S.A. , 131 S. Ct. 2060, 2070 k, n. 9 (2011), in equating the doctrine of
"conscious avoidance" at issue in Ferguson to "willful blindness, the doctrine at issue in
this case. Id. at 31 n. 14. And the Court confirmed that "both actual knowledge and
conscious avoidance" may be proven through evidence of "[r]ed flags about the legitimacy
of a transaction. Slip op. 38.

"

"

Appellants have argued that You Tube's knowledge of the rampant infringement taking place
on its site is established by its willful blindness to that infringement. See Viacom Br. 34-39;
Premier League Br. 34-36. Ferguson confirms that such conscious avoidance can be
demonstrated not only through evidence of affirmative steps to avoid specific knowledge of
incriminating facts present in this record, Viacom Br. 11-14 but also through "red flags
which permeate this record. See JAII-47 ("probably
about the legitimacy of [] transactions,
75-80% of our views come from copyrighted material" ); JAII159-60.

—

—

"

Ferguson also refutes YouTube's primary defense to Viacom's willful-blindness argument,
intended the awareness prong of the DMCA safe harbor to replace the
common law doctrine of willful blindness. See YouTube Br. 37-40. The Ferguson Court

i. e. , that Congress

Brussels

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Century City

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(').bSON

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DUNN

Ms. Deborah Holmes
August 26, 2011
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emphasizes that "conscious avoidance" is merely an alternative means of proving
knowledge; the "government need not choose between an 'actual knowledge' and a
'conscious avoidance' theory. Slip op. , at 32. In so doing, Ferguson precludes YouTube's
cramped understanding of the DMCA's knowledge prong as excluding willful blindness. See
YouTube Br. 38.

"

The Class Appellants have authorized me to say they join this letter.
Very truly yours,
/s/

Theodore

Theodore

B. Olson

B. Olson