Case3:10-cv-03647-WHA Document27 Filed04/15/11 Page1 of 3

1 D. GILL SPERLEIN (172887)

2 THE LAW OFFICE OF D. GILL SPERLEIN
584 Castro Street, Suite 879
3 San Francisco, California 94114
4
Telephone: (415) 404-6615
Facsimile: (415) 404-6616
5

6
gill@sperleinlaw.com

7 Attorney for plaintiff

8
IO GROUP, INC.

10
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
11 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION
12

13 )
) CASE NO. 10-3647 (WHA)
14 )
IO GROUP, INC. d/b/a TITAN MEDIA, a ) DECLARATION OF KEITH RUOFF
15
California corporation, ) IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF IO
16 ) GROUP, INC.’S REPLY TO
) ANONOMOUSLY FILED OPPOSITION
17 Plaintiff, ) TO MOTION TO STRIKE
18 vs. )
)
19 DOES 1-244, individuals, )
)
20
Defendants. )
21 )

22
I, Keith Ruoff, declare:
23

24 1. I am the Vice President of Io Group, Inc. and competent to testify to the facts I state
25
herein.
26

27

28

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DECLARATION OF KEITH RUOFF
IN SUPPORT OF REPLY
C-10-3647 (WHA)
 Case3:10-cv-03647-WHA Document27 Filed04/15/11 Page2 of 3

1 2. Io Group stipulates to a protective order with regard to identifying information of

2
the individual who submitted the Motion to Dismiss and would have authorized counsel to
3
stipulate so if the individual filing the Motion to Dismiss had previously requested a stipulation.
4

5
3. Io Group, Inc.’s primary asset, its intellectual property, would quickly become

6 valueless if Io Group did not protect it. Thus, in spite of great expense Io Group has filed many
7 claims for copyright and trademark infringement throughout its corporate existence. The primary
8
motivation for such lawsuits is to deter infringement and protect the value of Io Group’s
9
intellectual property. The secondary motivation was to obtain compensation for damage caused
10

11 by infringement. Io Group has always brought actions based on the damage caused by the

12 infringement and not based on the ability of the defendant to mount a defense or the ability of Io
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Group to collect on a judgment. Thus, Io Group has brought suit against large business entities
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such as Larry Flynt Productions and Veoh, Inc., as well as foreign individuals where recovery was
15
not likely.
16

17 4. Io Group is a small business that has suffered plummeting revenues in recent years

18 as a direct result of on-line piracy. The results have been devastating; with most adult production
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companies report that revenues have decreased 30% to 50% in recent years. Io Group’s DVD
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sales are down 30% over the past year alone. Based on the numbers of infringements documented
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on peer-to-peer networks, more individuals now watch Io Group’s content via pirated sources then
22

23 do via legal or paid sources.

24 5. In recent years, Io Group has employed around twenty full-time employees. For
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each of these employees, Io Group offers health insurance, a retirement plan, paid holidays, and
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other benefits. As a direct result of decreases in revenue due to piracy, Io Group has laid off 15%
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of its full time staff in the last year.

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DECLARATION OF KEITH RUOFF
IN SUPPORT OF REPLY
C-10-3647 (WHA)
 Case3:10-cv-03647-WHA Document27 Filed04/15/11 Page3 of 3

1 6. When Io Group produces a movie, it always releases the movie with its trademark
2
or brand prominently displayed in the opening and closing credits. The opening credits always
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prominently display the title of the work. Additionally, Io Group also always attaches a disclosure
4

5
statement providing the company’s San Francisco address as the location where Io Group

6 maintains age verification records for performs appearing in the movies. Federal law requires this
7 disclosure statement.
8
7. The infringed movies at issue in this matter are all registered with the United States
9
Copyright Office.
10

11 8. The technology used to infringe in this matter is a peer-to-peer technology and

12 network know as eDonkey2000. Similar to bit torrent technology, it allows peers to upload and
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download small pieces from a file with multiple peers rather than simply downloading the file
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from one other peer. This cooperation among all the peers allows for much faster transmission of
15
files.
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17 Pursuant to the laws of the United States, I declare under penalty of perjury the

18 foregoing is true and correct.

19
4/15/2011 /s/ Keith Ruoff
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Dated: _____________ ____________________________________
21 KEITH RUOFF , VICE PRESIDENT
22
Io Group, Inc.

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I hereby attest that I have on file all holograph signatures for any signatures indicated by a
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"conformed" signature (/S/) within this e-filed document.
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4/15/2011 /s/ D. Gill Sperlein
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Dated: _____________ ____________________________________
28 D. GILL SPERLEIN
Attorney for Io Group, Inc.

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DECLARATION OF KEITH RUOFF
IN SUPPORT OF REPLY
C-10-3647 (WHA)