You are on page 1of 10
 
1
2
3
4
5
6
789
10
1112
13
14
15
16
17
1819
20
21
22
23
2425
26
27
28
NAOMI
JANE
GRAY
 SBN
230171)
HARVEY
SISKINDLLP
Four
Embarcadero
Center
39th
Floor
San
Francisco,
California
941
 
Telephone:
(415)354-0100
Facsimile:
(415)391-7124
ngray@harveysiskind.com
Attorneys
for
Plaintiff
ASHLEYCANDLERUNITED
STATES
DISTRICT
COURT
EASTERNDISTRICT
OF
CALIFORNIA
ASHLEYCANDLER,
an
individual.
Plaintiff,
v
SHANNON
CARTER,
an
individual,
Defendants
Case
No.
COMPLAINT
COMPLAINT
Case
No:
!"#$ &'()*+,*-&-.&*/00*!10 23+45$67 ( 89:$; (-<-.<() =">$ ( 3? (-
 
1
2
345
6
7
8910111213
14
1516
17
1819
20
2122232425
26
2728
Plaintiff
Ashley
Candler
( Candler ),by
and
through
her
attorneys,
HarveySiskind
LLP,
alleges
as
follows:
JURISDICTIONAND
VENUE
 
Thisaction
arises
under
the
Copyright
Act,
17
U.S.C.
§§101
et
seq
ThisCourt
has
jurisdiction
over
this
actionpursuantto
28
U.S.C.
§§
1338(b)
and
1367.
2.
ThisCourt
has
personal
jurisdiction
overDefendant
because
Defendant
explicitly
consented
to
the
jurisdiction
of
thisCourt
in
a
DigitalMillennium
Copyright
Act
 DMCA )
countemoticesubmitted
to
YouTube
pursuantto
17
U.S.C.
§
512(g).
Moreover,
on
information
and
belief,
Defendant
resides
in
the
State
of
California,
engaged
in
the
infringing
acts
allegedherein
within
the
State
of
California,
andcaused
harmtoCandler
within
the
State
of
California.
3
Venueis
proper
in
the
Eastern
District
pursuantto
28
U.S.C.
§§
1391
and
1400(a)
in
that,on
information
and
belief.
Defendant
resides
in
the
District;
a
substantial
part
of
the
acts
and
omissions
giving
rise
toCandler s
claim
occurred
in
the
District;
and
Defendantmay
be
found
in
the
District.
PARTIES
4.
Candler
is
an
individual
residing
in
Butte
County,
California.
5
 
On
information
and
belief.Defendant
resides
in
or
aroundthe
city
of
Bakersfield,
county
of
Kern,
California.
INTRODUCTION
6
This
case
stems
from
Defendant s
deliberate
and
flagrant
acts
of
copyrightinfringement.
Candler
created
an
adorable
video
of
her
toddler
son
playing
in
the
bathtub
with
the
family
dogs,
and
posted
it
to
YouTube
for
the
enjoyment
of
family
and
friends.
Defendant
promptly
copied
the
video
toher
ownYouTube
channel
and
monetized
it
byauthorizingYouTubetoinsert
advertisements.
These
advertisements
generate
revenue
toDefendant
each
time
a
viewer
watchesthe
video.The
videowent
viral,
and
has
been
viewed
on
Defendant sYouTube
page
over
69
million
times.
-1-
COMPLAfNT
Case
No:
!"#$ &'()*+,*-&-.&*/00*!10 23+45$67 ( 89:$; (-<-.<() =">$ & 3? (-
 
1
23
4
56
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
1819
20
21
2223
24
2526
27
28
7.
Candler
sent
a
DMCA
takedownnotice
to
YouTube,resulting
in
removal
of
the
video.Defendant,however,submitted
a
countemotice
toYouTube,falsely
representing
that
the
takedown
wasdone
as
the
result
of
misidentification
ormistake.When
Candler s
counsel
attempted
to
contactDefendant
by
certifiedmail
at
the
address
provided
byDefendant
in
the
countemotice,Defendant
refused
toaccept
delivery
of
the
letter.
8.
Candler
has
tried
diligently
toresolveherdispute
with
Defendant
without
resortto
litigation.
Defendant s
knowing
and
willful
conduct
reflects
a
determination
tocontinue
infringing
no
matter
theconsequences,
leaving
Candler
with
no
choice
but
to
file
this
Complaint
in
orderto
protect
her
valuable
intellectual
property
rights.
F TS
9.
Candler
is
the
mother
of
a
young
son.
In
oraroundDecember,
2010,
Candler
created
a
videoentitled
 BathTime
Fun. 
The
video
displaysher
toddler
son
in
the
bathtub,
teasing
the
family
dachshund
with
a
bath
toy.
Thedachshund
repeatedly
jumps
for
the
toy
andmisses,
causing
Candler s
son
to
laugh
adorably.The
video
lasts
approximately
a
minute.
Candlerowns
U.S.
Copyright
Registration
No.
PA
1829720
for
the
video.
10
OnJanuary
12,201
1 
Candler
posted
the
video
to
YouTube
so
that
friends
and
family
could
view
it.
 
The
verynext
day,
on
January
 
3,
20
 
Defendantcopied
the
video
to
her
publicly
available
YouTube
channel,
sweetfacesjc.
In
a
caption
to
the
video,Defendantclaimedthat
the
video
showed
 my
nephewcracking
up
while
teasing
the
dog
with
histoy.
Original
contenttaken
by
me
with
myDroid
phone.
I
own
all
content
copyrightsto
this
video.
These
statements
were
false.
12
The
video
quickly
went
viral.
At
the
time
of
this
writing,
the
video
had
been
viewed
on
the
sweetfacesjcchannel
over
69
million
times.
13
On
information
and
belief,
in
addition
to
copying
and
publicly
displaying
the
video
without
authorization.
Defendant
has
 monetized
the
video
by
authorizing
YouTube
to
insert
advertisements
into
the
videothatplay
each
time
the
video
is
clicked.
On
information
and
belief.
Defendant
is
paid
each
time
a
viewer
watchesthe
video
with
theadvertisements.
 2
COMPLAINT
Case
No:
 
!"#$ &'()*+,*-&-.&*/00*!10 23+45$67 ( 89:$; (-<-.<() =">$ ) 3? (-

Reward Your Curiosity

Everything you want to read.
Anytime. Anywhere. Any device.
No Commitment. Cancel anytime.
576648e32a3d8b82ca71961b7a986505