IO Group, Inc. v. Veoh Networks, Inc.

Filing 85

Declaration of Keith Ruoff in Support of Plaintiff's Opposition to Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment 83 filed by IO Group, Inc. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Registration Pages)(Related document(s) 83 ) (Sperlein, Dennis) (Filed on 8/14/2007) Text modified on 8/15/2007 to conform to document caption post by counsel (bw, COURT STAFF).

IO Group, Inc. v. Veoh Networks, Inc.

Doc. 85

Case 5:06-cv-03926-HRL

Document 85

Filed 08/14/2007

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GILL SPERLEIN (172887) THE LAW FIRM OF GILL SPERLEIN 584 Castro Street, Suite 849 San Francisco, California 94114 Telephone: [phone] X32 Facsimile: [phone] [e-mail] Attorney for Plaintiff IO GROUP, INC.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SAN JOSE DIVISION IO GROUP, INC., a California corporation, Plaintiff, vs. VEOH NETWORKS, Inc., a California Corporation, Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) CASE NO. C-06-3926 (HRL) DECLARATION OF KEITH RUOFF IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF'S OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

DATE: September 4, 2007 TIME: 10:00 a.m. COURTROOM: 2

I, KEITH RUOFF, declare: 1. I am Vice President of Plaintiff in this matter, Io Group, Inc. 2. Io Group is a small business subject to extensive government regulation due to the nature of the content it produces. Because the adult film industry has historically been reluctant to protect its creative works, the industry as a whole was ill prepared to face the new challenges that arose in the age of the Internet. Even in an era that may be perceived as accepting of erotic material, many consumers turn to piracy in order to obtain such material not only freely, but also

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RUOFF DECLARATION IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT C-06-3926 (HRL)
Dockets.Justia.com

Case 5:06-cv-03926-HRL

Document 85

Filed 08/14/2007

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anonymously. Unlike the motion picture and recording industries, the adult entertainment industry has no trade association working collectively to protect creative works from piracy. 3. Recognizing that piracy would have a devastating impact on its business and having no support elsewhere, Io Group several years ago began allotting considerable resources towards antipiracy measures including, but not limited to, bringing litigation. 4. A majority of the actions plaintiff brings result in uncollectible default judgments. Only a few actions resulted in recoveries greater than the cost of bringing the action. The efforts are designed to deter other would-be infringers, not to generate income. 5. One the elements of Io Group's anti piracy is to strictly control the distribution of its works. Io Group only grants licenses to distribute its content in very limited and very defined circumstances. While Io Group has entered licensing agreements to distribute its works on the Internet, those agreements limit the distribution to the websites of Io Group's licensees. Io has always explicitly prohibited distribution for any other form of Internet distribution. Io Group has never granted permission or authority to anyone to make its works available on www.veoh.com. 6. I have reviewed www.veoh.com including the Terms of Use and Acceptable Use policies at various times. I have never seen any information on the website or in its Terms of Use and Acceptable Use policies informing users that Veoh creates Flash files from the Video files users submit. Nor, have I ever seen any information indicating that Veoh creates still-frame .jpg files from the video files users submit. 7. On Monday, August 30th, I signed up for a free Yahoo e-mail address using the Pseudonym John Doe. The e-mail address I obtained was [e-mail]. I then went to www.veoh.com and signed up for a new account using the username FauxUser99 and provided

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RUOFF DECLARATION IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT C-06-3926 (HRL)

Case 5:06-cv-03926-HRL

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the e-mail address [e-mail]. The entire process took less than ten minutes. I printed various pages during the sign up pages which are attached hereto as Exhibit A.

Pursuant to the laws of the United States, I declare under penalty of perjury the foregoing is true and correct.

Dated: August 14, 2007

/s/ Keith Ruoff Keith Ruoff

I hereby attest that this is the declaration of Keith Ruoff and the original with Keith Ruoff's holographic signature is on file for production for the Court if so ordered, or for inspection upon request by any party. Pursuant to the laws of the United States, I declare under penalty of perjury the foregoing is true and correct.

Dated: August 14, 2007

/s/ Gill Sperlein GILL SPERLEIN, Counsel for Plaintiff Io Group, Inc.

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RUOFF DECLARATION IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT C-06-3926 (HRL)