Disney Enterprises, Inc. et al v. Hotfile Corp. et al

Filing 195

Plaintiff's MOTION To Substitute Newly Redacted Versions of Motion to Compel the Deposition of Andrei Ianakov in Place of Publicly Filed Versions re 184 Plaintiff's MOTION to Compel Deposition of [REDACTED] by Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Disney Enterprises, Inc., Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Universal City Studios Productions LLLP, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Attachment A, # 2 Exhibit Attachment B, # 3 Exhibit Attachment C, # 4 Exhibit Attachment D, # 5 Exhibit Attachment E, # 6 Exhibit Attachment F, # 7 Exhibit Attachment G, # 8 Exhibit Attachment H, # 9 Exhibit Attachment I, # 10 Text of Proposed Order)(Stetson, Karen)

ATTACHMENT F

EXHIBIT C

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
CASE NO. 11-20427-WILLIAMS/TURNOFF
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - DISNEY ENTERPRISES,
INC., TWENTIETH CENTURY
FOX FILM CORPORATION,
UNIVERSAL CITY STUDIOS
PRODUCTIONS LLLP,
COLUMBIA PICTURES
INDUSTRIES, INC., and
WARNER BROS.
ENTERTAINMENT, INC.,
Plaintiff,
v.
HOTFILE CORP., ANTON
TITOV, and DOES 1-10,

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12

Defendants.

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HOTFILE CORP.,
Counterclaimant,
v.
WARNER BROS ENTERTAINMENT
INC.,
Counterdefendant.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - VOLUME III
H I G H L Y C O N F I D E N T I A L
(Pursuant to protective order, the following
transcript has been designated highly confidential)
30(b)(6) DEPOSITION OF ANTON TITOV
Radisson Blu Hotel
Sofia, Bulgaria
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
AT: 9:09 a.m.
Job # 44429
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Q.

Okay.

2

A.

Currently it's only Andre -- Andre Ianakov.

3

Q.

Okay.

4

Is it one particular person's responsibility?

And has it always been only Andre Ianakov?

I'm sorry, did you say "no"?

5

A.

I didn't.

9

Q.

So has Mr. Ianakov been -- strike that.

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Has reviewing and responding to user communications

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been part of Mr. Ianakov's responsibilities from the

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launch of Hotfile through to the present?

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MR. THOMPSON:

14

A.

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BY MR. FABRIZIO:

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Q.

Objection, overbroad.

I believe so.

Okay.

And what are Mr. Ianakov's and, while he was

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doing it, Mr.

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user correspondence?

19

MR. THOMPSON:

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A.

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responsibilities with regard to

Objection, overbroad.

Generally to address users' problems and to try to help
them.

22

BY MR. FABRIZIO:

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Q.

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25

Okay.

Did you supervise Mr. Ianakov and/or Mr.

,

when he was there, with regard to user communications?
MR. THOMPSON:

Objection, vague.

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A.

I won't say it's fair to say that I do supervise them.

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To the extent that a user may have a technical problem,

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they may contact me, if they think that it's a problem

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I can help them with.

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BY MR. FABRIZIO:

6

Q.

Okay.

Does somebody have a responsibility for

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supervising Mr.

8

communications?

9
10

MR. THOMPSON:
A.

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and Ianakov in responding to user

Same objection.

Well, it's not strictly written anywhere or anything
else, and my understanding is that, to a certain extent,

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is supervising them.

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BY MR. FABRIZIO:

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Q.

Well, maybe I should put it this way; while he was there

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Mr.

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they empowered by Hotfile to exercise their discretion

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in answering user correspondence?

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and throughout the period, Mr. Ianakov, were

MR. THOMPSON:

19

Objection.

Vague and calls for a legal

conclusion.

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A.

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BY MR. FABRIZIO:

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Q.

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MR. THOMPSON:

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A.

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I would say to a certain extent.

"To a certain extent"?

What does that mean?

Objection, vague.

Probably there would be problems that they will address
to

or to me, and if they want me to tell them how

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to solve this problem, they would generally get the idea

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that this is the way that these problems should be

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solved.

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BY MR. FABRIZIO:

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Q.

6

Okay.

How is it determined which problems they bring to

you or Mr. -- let me just get his name.

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MR. THOMPSON:

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MR. FABRIZIO:

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MR. THOMPSON:

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BY MR. FABRIZIO:

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Q.

12

Let me repeat that.
-- strike that.

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How is Mr. Ianakov supposed to determine which

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15

How does -- how do they

problems he brings to you or Mr.
MR. THOMPSON:

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?

Objection, lacks foundation, calls for

speculation.

17

A.

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BY MR. FABRIZIO:

19

Q.

Okay.

20

A.

I will help him to solve the problem, I guess.

21

Q.

If a user communication and comes in and Mr. Ianakov and

I don't know how he decides.

So he uses his discretion to decide this?

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Mr.

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because it doesn't create a problem, are they allowed to

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respond to it without somebody else from Hotfile

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reviewing it?

believe that they can respond to it without --

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MR. THOMPSON:

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A.

Objection, overbroad and vague.

I think so.

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MR. THOMPSON:

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You need to give him more guidance as to what

you're after.

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BY MR. FABRIZIO:

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Q.

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MR. THOMPSON:

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A.

What did you mean by your answer?
Objection, vague.

I don't believe that this is intendedly putting the

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program that sends the message, but a normal mail server

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will put timestamps, so it's fair to say that that's

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correct.

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BY MR. FABRIZIO:

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Q.

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Okay.

So you would understand this to be the date that

the user sent the communication, correct?

13

A.

Correct.

14

Q.

Below that, under the "To" line it says

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"[e-mail]," is that a Hotfile mailbox?
A.

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No, there is no my knowledge no Hotfile mailbox.

All

emails are forwarded to gmail accounts.

18

Q.

Okay.

Do you have any understanding as to why this says

23

Q.

Okay.

So is it correct to say that all email -- or all

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user communications sent to the Contact us page are

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routed to a single mailbox, which is a gmail account?

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A.

I'm not sure about "single," but generally, yes.

2

Q.

Okay.

3

A.

Yeah, there might be.

4

Q.

What gmail accounts are used to receive communications

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And maybe more than one mailbox?

from users through the Contact us page?

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A.

I believe one is hotfile.general.

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Q.

@gmail.com?

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A.

Yes.

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Q.

Are there others that are used to receive Contact us

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page communications from users?
A.

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I think there is one called hotfile.mailbox.
know them all.

Q.

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Okay.

I don't

There might be more.

And is Mr. Ianakov responsible for reviewing all

of those mailboxes?

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A.

Yes, he is.

16

Q.

Okay.

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Have you ever yourself gone into those gmail

accounts and reviewed user communications?

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MR. THOMPSON:

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A.

Objection, overbroad and vague.

Yeah, I think so.

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Q.

Okay.

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A.

Yes.

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Q.

This user says that they're no longer able to download

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And look at exhibit 146, please.

TV serial -- strike that.

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The user says that he is no longer able to download

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TV series and then says:

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"If you no longer support this feature, then I would

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like a refund as your service is of no use as it cannot

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be accessed."

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Do you see that?

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A.

I do see that.

15

Q.

Was this user a premium subscriber?

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A.

From what it says in the email, yes, he was.

17

Q.

Okay.

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visited a page concerning Two and a Half Men?
MR. THOMPSON:

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And the email reflects that this user last

Objection, the document speaks for itself,

and misstates its content.
A.

Yes, there is a URL with Two and a Half Men in the

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subject.

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BY MR. FABRIZIO:

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Q.

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And, to your knowledge, did Hotfile respond to this
user?

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A.

I don't know.

2

Q.

In the period of time after the filing of this lawsuit,

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did other users ask Hotfile for refunds because some of

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the files they wanted to get were no longer available?

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MR. THOMPSON:

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A.

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BY MR. FABRIZIO:

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Q.

Who at Hotfile would handle requests for refunds?

9

A.

That would be Andre.

10

Q.

Okay.

Objection, overbroad, calls for speculation.

I don't know.

Did -- of the shareholders of Hotfile, is there

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one of the shareholders that would have more

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responsibility for dealing with issues of user requests

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for refunds?

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A.

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I don't believe so.

I think that the policy is to issue

refunds when requested.

16

Q.

Is Mr. Ianakov an owner of Hotfile Corporation?

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A.

No, he is not.

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Q.

Does he have any ownership interests in Hotfile

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Corporation?

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A.

No, he does not.

21

Q.

Does he have an ownership interest in Hotfile Ltd?

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A.

No, he does not.

23

Q.

Does he have an ownership interest in Lemuria?

24

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Q.

You consider yourself a technologist, do you not?

2

A.

Yeah, I do.

3

Q.

Do you consider Mr. Vangelov a technologist?

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A.

I won't say so.

5

Q.

Do you consider Mr. Stoyanov a technologist?

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A.

To a certain extent.

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Q.

And does he write computer code?

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A.

To my best knowledge, he used to, like 20 years ago.

9

Q.

Excuse me -- did he write any of the code for Hotfile?

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A.

No, he did not.

11

Q.

Did Mr. Vangelov?

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A.

No, he did not.

13

Q.

Other than you and Mr. Chuburov, did anybody else write

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the code for Hotfile?
A.

Vasil Kolev can write a code, but most of the time he

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doesn't enjoy the process, so, if it's very necessary to

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do some fix, he might do it, but it's not his general

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Q.

In addition to his responsibilities in communicating

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with users, did Mr. Ianakov promote Hotfile through

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internet forums and the like?

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MR. THOMPSON:

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A.

Objection, vague.

Not since the beginning.

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BY MR. FABRIZIO:

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Q.

But in the beginning he did?

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A.

I believe so.

4

Q.

Okay.

5

A.

I think so.

6

Q.

And you approved of him doing it at the beginning?

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A.

I guess I didn't say anything, so ...

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Q.

You understood he was trying to help Hotfile become more

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And you knew he was doing it at the beginning?

well-known and gain users, correct?

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A.

I think it was my understanding, yes.

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Q.

So you considered his activities good for Hotfile?

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MR. THOMPSON:

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A.

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Objection, vague.

I don't know about all his activities but, generally,
yes.

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BY MR. FABRIZIO:

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Q.

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Do you know any of the forums on which Mr. Ianakov
promoted Hotfile?

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MR. THOMPSON:

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A.

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Objection, assumes facts.

Nothing that I can remember now, they were in
interrogatory response.

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BY MR. FABRIZIO:

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Q.

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Sorry for that short digression.

I want to go back to

the remote upload feature for a minute, and to help try

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