Hosting a Pirate Site Doesn't Amount to Infringement, Judge Says

Hosting a Pirate Site Doesn't Amount to Infringement, Judge Says

LOS ANGELES — A federal judge has decided that a third-party hosting company that provided services to alleged pirated websites isn’t necessarily liable for copyright infringement.

U.S. District Judge George Wu, in a tentative ruling made last week, granted defendant Steadfast Networks LLC’s motion to dismiss over claims that the Chicago-based hosting provider should be held liable for alleged pirated adult content that was found on Imagebam.com.

The plaintiff in the case, ALS Scan, last year sued a number of third-party services, namely the JuicyAds ad network, content delivery network CloudFlare and several hosting providers, including Steadfast.

In the Steadfast ruling, Wu said that merely hosting a pirate site does not make the hosting service liable for any copyright infringement actions the site may be guilty of.

In its motion to dismiss, Steadfast argued that it did not manage or operate the Imagebam site, and that it only provided computer storage.

"The court is unaware of any authority holding that merely alleging that a defendant provides some form of 'hosting' service to an infringing website is sufficient to establish contributory copyright infringement," Wu wrote.

“The court would therefore find that the [complaint] fails to allege facts establishing that Steadfast materially contributed to the infringement,” Wu wrote.

In October, Wu sided with defendant JuicyAds and dismissed the complaint against the ad network, holding that a third party can only be liable for contributing to copyright infringement where its participation in the infringing conduct of the primary infringer is substantial or where it intentionally encourages the infringing activity.

Wu found that ALS Scan failed to allege any link between JuicyAds’ services and the infringing conduct of the pirate websites, and therefore had failed to state a claim for contributory copyright infringement.

Wu also dismissed claims for vicarious copyright infringement and contributory trademark infringement, reasoning that the complaint failed to allege that JuicyAds had the right and ability to supervise and control the infringing conduct of the pirate websites.  

Also in October, Wu held that the ALS Scan adequately pleaded a claim under a material contribution theory because it alleged that CloudFlare’s content delivery network services made it faster and easier for consumers to access infringing websites and load infringing images from any location.

However, Wu held that ALS Scan had failed to allege a claim under an inducement theory because there were no allegations that CloudFlare directly encouraged the pirate websites to display infringing content.

In addition, Wu dismissed vicarious copyright and contributory trademark infringement claims because CloudFlare did not have the legal right to stop the infringing websites or remove the infringing content from the pirate websites.

View ruling

Related:  

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Dirty Cinema Launches New Paysite 'MILFuckd'

Dirty Cinema has launched a new paysite, MILFuckd.com, on its network.

Braindance Unveils '6DOF' VR Tech

Interactive virtual reality platform Braindance has debuted its new Six Degrees of Freedom (6DOF) VR technology.

Kiiroo, Pineapple Support Launch 'Empower Hour' Series on FeelHubX YouTube Channel

Kiiroo and Pineapple Support have teamed up to launch the “Empower Hour” series on the FeelHubX YouTube channel.

Kansas Law Firm Deploys Religion, Bunk Science While Recruiting Plaintiffs Under AV Law

Kansas-based personal injury law firm Mann Wyatt Tanksley is promoting debunked scientific theories and leveraging religious affiliation against the industry while it seeks potential plaintiffs for lawsuits against adult companies under the state’s age verification law.

UK Tech Secretary Lists Age Verification Among OSA Priorities

Peter Kyle, the U.K.’s Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, on Wednesday made public a draft version of his priorities for implementing the Online Safety Act (OSA), including age verification.

AEBN Publishes Popular Seraches by Country for September, October

AEBN has released its list of popular searches from its straight and gay theaters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Avery Jane Featured on 'Adult Time Podcast'

Avery Jane is the latest guest on the “Adult Time Podcast,” hosted by studio CCO Bree Mills.

FSC: Kansas Law Firm Threatens Adult Site Over Age Verification

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has been notified that Kansas law firm Mann Wyatt Tanksley has sent a letter threatening an adult website with a lawsuit for breaking the state's age verification law.

10th Circuit Rejects Final FSC Appeal in Utah AV Case

The United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit on Monday rejected a motion by Free Speech Coalition (FSC) requesting that the full court rehear its appeal in Free Speech Coalition v. Anderson, the industry trade association’s challenge to Utah’s age verification law.

Trump Nominates Project 2025 Contributor, Section 230 Foe to Chair FCC

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated, as his pick to head the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr — an author of Project 2025 who has called for gutting Section 230 protections.

Show More