I/P Engine, Inc. v. AOL, Inc. et al

Filing 349

Declaration re 347 Memorandum in Support, of Michael Hochberg in Support of Plaintiff's and Defendants' Motions to Seal (Public Version) by AOL Inc., Gannett Company, Inc., Google Inc., IAC Search & Media, Inc., Target Corporation. (Noona, Stephen)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
NORFOLK DIVISION

UP ENGINE. INC.
Plaintiff,
v.

Civil Action No. 2:I 1-cv-512

AOL, INC., et al.,
Defendants.

DECLARATION OF MICHAEL HOCHBERG IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFT's AND
DEFENDANTS' MOTIONS TO SEAL
Michael Hochberg, declare as follows:
I. 1 am an Engineering Director at Google Inc. ("Google") where I have been employed since
November 1, 2004. As part of my duties at Google, I manage the Ads Quality team.
2. 1 understand that in this litigation the Court has issued Orders to Show Cause why certain
litigation materials should not be unsealed and filed in the public record.
3. 1 am providing this declaration to describe the extraordinarily sensitive and valuable nature
of information regarding specifically how Google Ad Words and AdSense for Search
determine which advertisements to display, how Google computes costs to advertisers, and
the potential risk of this type of information being shared with the public, including Google's
advertisers and competitors. This declaration is based on my personal knowledge.

01980.5 928I4963 SI 3.2

4. Google offers a variety of services that can be accessed by anyone with an Internet
connection and an Internet browser. A user accessina www.google.com may input a search
query. and Google will return search results (e.g., links to web pages, videos, or images).
Additionally, for some queries, Google serves targeted advertisements to the right of (or
sometimes above or below) search results.
5. AdWords is the online advertising auction system used to display advertisements next to
search results on www.google.com . Some third-party and Gooale-owned websites (e.g.,
Google Maps and the search function for the online auction site eBay) show advertisements
provided by a Google system called AdSense For Search ("AFS"). Those websites typically
show AFS-provided ads on the "result" page for a search function.
6. Each time an end user enters an eligible search query on Google.com . AdWords runs an
auction for the ad space available on the search results page displayed to the end user. To
enter the auction, advertisers submit advertisements, identify keywords they wish to associate
with the advertisements, and provide their bids: usually in the term of a maximum cost-perclick, which indicates the maximum price an advertiser is willing to pay if an end-user clicks
on its ad.

Ilar11111111

7

01980.51928,4963813.2

s10•0111111111•11w

8.

1111111111111111111111

111111111111111111111,

9. The attributes used by Google are listed out in Google's source code and are kept strictly
confidential. if Google's source code or discussions regarding Google's source code become
public information,

I 0.

01980.5192814903813.2

11. Moreover, because Google has so many users, a high placement in Google's search results
and/or Sponsored Links is valuable to those seeking to attract people to their web sites or
other online content. As a result. there are numerous instances of people attempting to
manipulate or "game" Google's systems in order to improve the position of their content in
search results or Sponsored Links. For example, individuals have manipulated Google's
search results for political purposes, to protest, or for self promotion. See, e.g.,
lun://www.nytimes orn;2006/ 0/26i•usipoi

6

r= &oref---- c;19Qin;

h n://new s. hbc.co.a./2/h iisciencef nature/ I 868395.stm.

12. If the factors that Google uses to determine which ads to serve and how they should be
ranked became publically available, advertisers could use that information to game the
system. Indeed, an entire industry has developed aimed at improving the placement of search
results and Sponsored links on Google. Search Engine Optimization (SE0) services seek to
improve the placement of their customers websites in search results and Sponsored Links.
Search Engine Marketers (SEMs) are companies that provide, among other things, SEO
services.
13.

14.

01980.51928..4%3813.2

l 5. In a third instance, an advertiser used Google's method for determining unique visible URLs
to fill an entire search results page with his own ads, preventing any of his competitors from
advertising on that search results page. See http:7:w ww.shoemonev.com/2007/1 / 1 Thiveellrin2 tones ad words dom inationi.
-

-

-

6. These activities hurt consumers by increasing the rankings of lower quality advertisements.
These tactics also hurt other advertisers by making it more difficult for their advertisements
to be displayed. Accordingly, teams of engineers at Google are devoted to combating these
abusive tactics. Today, participants in this industry can only guess the particular methods by
which Google determines which ads are served and how they are ranked. But with access to
confidential Google information regarding how Google determines which advertisements to
display, those wishing to game the system would have unique insight into Google's
techniques, and be better at artificially boosting their search results and Sponsored Links
ahead of those that would properly have appeared. This, in turn, would decrease the quality
of Google search and AdWords services because users would begin to see low-quality ads
because SEOs were able to manipulate Google's system.
17. A lack of Court protection of the aforementioned information would also severely harm
Google because the information could also be used by Google's competitors to attempt to
mimic Google's unique, successful, and, thus far. confidential details of its advertising
systems.

01980.5192814963813.2

18. Only by keeping the information regarding specifically how Google selects which ads to
display, and thus the position and pricing of ads, in the strictest of confidence can Google
protect the legitimacy of its search and AdWords systems.

I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the
foregoing is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.

Executed this Seventeenth day of September, 2012 in Mountain View, California.

I declare under penalty of perjury of the laws of the United States that the foregoing is
true and correct.
Dated: September 17, 2012
Michael Hochberg

019a0.51928/49638:13.2

DATED: September 24, 2012

/s/ Stephen E. Noona
Stephen E. Noona
Virginia State Bar No. 25367
KAUFMAN & CANOLES, P.C.
150 West Main Street, Suite 2100
Norfolk, VA 23510
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
[e-mail]
David Bilsker
David A. Perlson
QUINN EMANUEL URQUHART &
SULLIVAN, LLP
50 California Street, 22nd Floor
San Francisco, California 94111
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
Counsel for Google Inc., Target Corporation,
IAC Search & Media, Inc., and
Gannett Co., Inc.
By: /s/ Stephen E. Noona
Stephen E. Noona
Virginia State Bar No. 25367
KAUFMAN & CANOLES, P.C.
150 W. Main Street, Suite 2100
Norfolk, VA 23510
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
Robert L. Burns
FINNEGAN, HENDERSON, FARABOW, GARRETT &
DUNNER, LLP
Two Freedom Square
11955 Freedom Drive
Reston, VA 20190
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]

Cortney S. Alexander
FINNEGAN, HENDERSON, FARABOW, GARRETT &
DUNNER, LLP
3500 SunTrust Plaza
303 Peachtree Street, NE
Atlanta, GA 94111
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
Counsel for Defendant AOL, Inc.

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on September 24, 2012, I will electronically file the foregoing with
the Clerk of Court using the CM/ECF system, which will send a notification of such filing (NEF)
to the following:
Jeffrey K. Sherwood
Kenneth W. Brothers
DICKSTEIN SHAPIRO LLP
1825 Eye Street NW
Washington, DC 20006
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
Donald C. Schultz
W. Ryan Snow
Steven Stancliff
CRENSHAW, WARE & MARTIN, P.L.C.
150 West Main Street, Suite 1500
Norfolk, VA 23510
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
Counsel for Plaintiff, I/P Engine, Inc.

/s/ Stephen E. Noona
Stephen E. Noona
Virginia State Bar No. 25367
KAUFMAN & CANOLES, P.C.
150 West Main Street, Suite 2100
Norfolk, VA 23510
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
[e-mail]