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2 3 4 5 BarNo. 15948 3) C. ROTH(State JDROME jerome.roth@mto.com jONATHANll. BLnVIN (Srate Brr No.230269) ionathan.bLdvin@m1o.com BarNo.2815,12) l,AIJRAK. Lin (Stotc laura.lin(drlto.oom LLP TOt,T,ES & OI.SON MlJNCER. 560MissionStreet Floor Twcnty-Seventh California 94105-2907 SanFrancisco, ' l c l e p hon c: (4 1 5 )5l 2-40 0 0 l a c s i mi l c: (4 1 5 )51 2 -40 7 7 Atbmcys for LinlicdlnCorporation 8 9 t0 ll
Corporirlion, 1 2 Linl(cdln
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DISI'I{ICTCoTJ[tl' UNITEDS'I'A1'I'S OF CAI-IFOItNIN DIS'I]I.IC'I' NORI'IIIJITN

ITRT,

No. Case

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l3 t4 t5 l6 17 t8 l9 2A 21 22 23 24 25 26 21 28

l'h intill'.

(l) vloLAl'roN olt 1'llEcoMPtll'ltl{ AC'l', lli l;-s.c. ANDAllIJSE I,-llAUD

Qti1030li'f S[Q.i (2)VlOl,A't'toN ol' cALll'ol{NlA I'ENAL COr)ll S 502; (3'IVIOI,Al'ION 0F THN I)I(;I1'AI, MILLENNIUM coPYRIGHT Ac'r, l7 (4) I}REACII 0I.' CONTILdCT; (5)TRIiSPASS; ANI) (6) MISAPPIIOPIiIATION

I,'ot': Cornpl:rint

Ilh rough

incltrsivc,

Dckncliurts.

nTstrQ.; u.s.c. $$r20r

COMPLAINT

Plainti1ll,inkedln Corporation("Linkedln" or "Plainti1l'), by and through its attorneys,

for Docs I -10 (collcctivcly,the "Doe Dcfendants") 2 bringsthis ComplainragainslDcfendants

3 injunctive rcliefand danragcs.Linkcdln allegcsas follows: 4

1. \ith morcthan259 nillion proiessional net\\,olk Linkedlnis lhc world'slargest

jn over200 corrntrics Is to connect snd tcfiibfics ruound theglobc. Linkedlns li.sston 5 nremhcrs to rnakcthem more prodtlctiveand succcssful.l hroughits proprictary 6 thc worlcl'sprofessionals historicsand tnd sh:trethcir professional 7 platlbrm. Litrkedlnallows ils nrcmbctsto ctcale,manage fcoruitcrs allcl l,inkedlnprovides valuable scrviccs lo corporate 8 intcrcsts online. in addition. nrenrbcrs pfoducl, arrongLinkcclln's with its Itecfuiler \\'hichallowsthcmto idcntil.v hcadhunters pliltlbnnarc ils nlcmbcrs, who crcate t 0 top candidatcs lbr opcnposilions. At thehcarlof Linkcdln's

lt t2

by any othcrtrrcnlbcr. prolilcstha(scrvcils thcir prollssionllonlirrcidentitics andarcaoccssiblc 2. various irlllomatod cnrployirlg SinccMay 2013.unknown pctsons aud/ofontitics

of lirkcLinkcdln (ollcrrrolercclto as"bots")havorcgistcrcd thousands l 3 soliwarcprrrg|ams

t 4 mcDrbor accounlsand havccxlrtctcd and copieddilt fronr nlany Incnrbcrprolilc pagcs. I his t 5 pr itcticc,known n sdata 'scra p in g . " is c x p lic it ly lx t rrc d b y l, in k c (lllr' s I J s c r, A ! , ,0 c n 1 e n l , w h i c h
or ol olhcr tcohnology prohilljts "lhroughscfapirrg, spiclcring. ofawling acocss to Linl(cdln r.rsccl wlittenconscnl ol Linkcdlnor its Mclnbcrc." t ' 7 sottwarc kr acccss datawithouttheexprcss

l13

l.

Thc Doc l)clindrnts knowirgly and intclti(nally havcbrcachcdthis and othcr

to abidcby irr ancl in Lirrkedln's tlscr AgrecmcDt - \!hichthcy agrced l 9 acccss usclcslrictions pfotcclion barriors crnploycd tcchl]ical 2 0 regislering theiraooounls andh[vc circunvcnted variorrs thc 2 1 by Linkccll[. lnsodoing,theyhavcviolatcd an arrayoflldcral andskltclawi-.inclltding Penal Code 22 Cornputer Fraud andAbuseAcl, l8 U.S.C.{ 1030, et scq.(the"Cl;AA"), Calilbrnia "DMCA"), 2 3 $ 502et scq., and the l)igitalMillenniunr Copyright Act, l7 U.S.C.! 1201ct seq.(1hc

24 and havc engaged in unluwftrl actsof hreachof contract,fiisappropriation,arrdtrespass. 25

4. The l)oe Dcfendants'unla$'ful conductthreatens the t-inkcdlr platform in scveral

26 ways. [t undcrmincs the irtegrity and elfectivcness ofLinkedln's protcssionalnelwork by 2 1 polluting it \dth thousands of iake mcinberprofiles- The world's prol'essionals utilizc Linkedln

2u {'ilh

the cxpectation that ils colltenlsarc accurate and its uscrprofiles lcgitimale. Morcover,by

-t COMPI.AINT

piltbrirg data liom thc Linkedln sitc. the Doe l)efcrda[ts tlucatenlo degrade the valueof

2 Linkcdln's ltccruitcr product,in which I-inkcdln hasinveslcdsubstantially over the ]cars. 3 l,inke<ilnalso hassullbred additionalharrnsas a resuitofthc Doc Dcfendants'aclivitics, 4 inchlding,bul not limitcd to, incrcased strair on and disruplion of ils network servcrs and lhc 5 expcnditufeof limc and resourccs to invcstigate and respond1()this misconducl6
5. LiDkcdln's colc guiding |irst. Becausc Linkedln's nrcrnbcrs valueis Mcmbcrs

1 cnlfust Linkedlnwith lhcir prolcssional on l,intricdltl's sitc.Linkedlr is histoicsand intcrcsts 8 con1millcd to carning dnd kecping its mcmbefs' tr.trst in evcf)'thing Linkcdhrdocs. including
its mcnbcrsiiom attcrnpts 9 prolcctirrg b scmpclhejrdata. by thirdpartics

li)
ll

6.

l,inkcdlnrcsponded promptly su'ililyto thc l)oe l)eiirldants' actjvilies, including

disabling thc llkc nrcnrbcr prolilcsand inrplcnlcnling pn)lcclion additioual technical barticrs.ln

l2 additionlo thcsenreasules, nnd lo cnsurcthal li(urc incidcnlsdo not occur-l-inkcdln bringsthis t3 itction 10idcntifythc Doc I)cl'cndants pcrnranon( injunctivc irndto obl:rin rclicl'halting thcir t4 unlawlll condtict.'l-hcl)oc l)clindarrt"il not cnioincd. thrcalcn ongoing ard activitics. I5 irrcparablc harmto Linkcclln. good\+ill. including lo ils rcputalion andsub)_tanlial oonsumcf
l,iniicdlnlirlher is entitled 10its aotual statLrlory danrngcs. lnd/or cxcnrplary clanngcs as danrtrges,

t7 a rosult ol thc I)oo I)cl-endaDls' miscondLlcl. t8 19

7. .IUI{ISDIC'I'IONAND VIINUII This CourtIraslcdclalqucstionjurisdiotion ovcr tlrislction Lrudcr 2B ti.S.U.

20 $$ l 33la n d ll3llbeca u scthisact io Da llc g e s v io la lio nlb so d lc r|ls t a t u t c s in , c lu d irg t h e C I . A A . 2l

l8tl.S.C.S 1 0 3 0 ,ctse q .,a n d the DMCA , U. S . C. g d 1 2 0 1 , c t s c q .T h c Clo u rt l7 l1 a s u pp l c m c n t a l

22 j urisdictionover lire stateiaw causcsof uctionpleadedhercin pursuantto 28 U.S.C. .\ l3 67. 23

11. Vcnue is propcr in this District urdcr 28 U.S.C. g l39l, bccalNca substantiai parl

24 ofthe evcntsor omissionsgiving rise to the claintsoccuncd in this l)istricl25

9. In addition,Linkedln's tjscr Agreementgoverningall users'access lo and useof

26 the l-inkcdln wcbsiteand Linlicdln's serviccsprovidcsthat courtslocatcdwilhin thc coo4tyof 2 7 SaulaCluua,Califbmia, sball h.rvejurisdiciion ovcr any disputcbetrveenLinkcdln and thc Doe 28 Dettndants.
-2,

COMP],AIN1'

10.

During all rclgvan!times, thc Doe Dclendants havc repcatedly, knowingly, and

2 intcDtionallyacc !ssed Linkcdln's serverslooatcdin this.judicioldist ct witlrout Linkedln's

l
dnd havc qontracted authorization, lbr suchaocess, bcconing lcgistcredLinkedln mcmbers

4 subiectto Lid(cdln's ljscr Agrecment. Whilc acccssing Linkedln's scrvers,the l)oe J)cfendants 5 madc systcmaticnnd continuous their $rongt'ul oontacts with this iudicial dislrict, and targeted 6 act:^ al Linkcdln. which is hcadquartered in this iudicial disllicl. 'l
I l. -l'hisis an irrtcllectual prope y action to bc assigned on a districFlvidc basisunder

8 Civil LocalI{ulc3-2(c). 9 t0
12. TIII' PAII'I'IES place Linkedluis a Dclawirccorporation wjth its princlpal ol busincss in Mounlain

View. Calilbrnia.

12

13.

l hc Doc DcLcndants cntitics rcsponsiblc in wholcof in pnl1flof arc pcrsorls and/or

thc l)oc I 3 the wrongcloinB AIIegccl hc|cin. At lca"-t I'orsomcol-thcunlawlil actsallcgcdhcrcin.

l 4 I)clcndanls rcSistcrcd u)cnrbcr accolints k) lhc l-inkcdlnIJscrAgrccnrcnt. o|r l,inkcdln, subjcct

pu{icipalcd in, rdlilied, t 5 Linkcdlnis inlblnrccland bclicvcs thalcachol thc Doc I)clcnclants cndoBed, or wls othcn!iscinvolvcdin llte actsconrplaincd ol irn(llhul thcy havcliabililylbf such

t 7 rcls. Lilrkcdlrr intcncls to scel( cxpcditcd to lcarntho idcntityo11hcDoc DclcndaDts and clisoovefy I t i will arrcndthis(lomplairti1'and or cnliticsand/or thc scopc whcr thc idcntitics ol suchpcrsons ol' 1 9 theifacti0ns becomcs known. 20 2l 22
14. FACTS Thc Liukcdln ProfcssionalNetrvot.k prolcssional Linkcdlnis theworld'slargesl nctwork, with over259 million

2 3 mcrnbers woridwide and ovcr 84 rnillion mcmbcrsin the United Statcs. Linkedln's missionis to
connectthe wotld's prolessionals to nrakethem morc productivcand succcssful.

25

15.

Throughits proprielaryplatform, Linkedln membersare able to creaic.manage and

26 sharethcir protessiorlaL ideotity online, build aDdengaSe with thcir prolessionalneiwork, access 2'7 sharcdknowledgeand insights,and find business oppo unitics,enablingthem to be morc 28 -3-

CoMPLAlr.'T

producti!e and succcssful. Linkedln's broadcrvision is 10creatccconomicopportunilyfor cvery

2 member ofthc globalworkforce. 3

I6. who crcaleindividual profilcs At the hcarl ol Linkedln's plotibrm are its rnenlbers,

4 that servea"^ lheir pfolcssionalprofiles and are acccssible by any olhcr membcr.as well as (unless 5 a ficnrber chooses otherwisc)anyonewith an Intcnletconncction. Linkedln couDts cxecutivcs
6

liom all 20ll lorlunc 500 compunics as nrembers. 17. l-inkedln's oorcguiding, Linl(cdlll's rnenrbers valucis Mcnbels l.irst. llecausc

8 c[lmst l-in](cdln u,ithlhcir prolossional on [,inkedln's historics andintcrests sitc.Linkcdlnis 9 conmitlcdto camingand kceping its nrembcrs' Linkcdlnclocs, incluriirrg trustin evcrything l 0 proteclingits lnenrbcfsfinll allcnrptsby lhird particsto scmpethcir dala. 1l
18. lhc Linkcdln\reb$itc isanoriginal copyrightcd work. .Anrcng thc significanl

graphical t 2 ofiginalclenrsnls ol the l-inkcdlnwcbsilc pagclayout, dcsign, ar0thedistinctivc

t 3 clenronls, andorganizalion ol'mcnlbor prolilcpagcs andnowsliccl. andthc Linkcdlnltomcpagc t 4 l,irrkccllrr's IJ.S. copyriSht rcgislratioDs Ibr thc l-inkcdlnwcbsitcincluclc llcg. Nos. l5
IX0007355749, fX0007010652. unLt1X000745529l. l9 Linl(cdlnhasinvcstcd nd plans tiorc.Iabor. lo cdltirLrc10invcslsubstiutial skill,

t 7 and linanciol fcsolrrccs iulo tlre(lcvclopll]ent ilndnraintcnnccol lhc l,inkcdlnsilc. t8 t9

20. l,inl<cdln'sUscr Agrccmcnl Linkcclln is lr,ailable al no cosl to anyonewho wtnts to_ioinond wlro agrccsto thc

2A tcflns o ,inkedli's User Agreentcntand l\'ivacy Policy.r A p()spectivelncrllberfcgisteNlbf an 2 1 0ccoulrt by providing a l'irsl name,last name,cmail addross, and pirssword, altd agrccingk) 22 I-ir <cdhr's UscrAgrectnent and Privacy Policy. 23
21. As dcscribedilrtlrer below, the Doe Dcfeldanls rcgistercdthousands of f'ake

24 membcraccounts as part ol thcir datascraping activitics. Iror cachof thoscaccounts, the l)oe 25 Defendanis agreedto bc boundby Linkedln's Uscr AgrccmeDt. 26 27 I Ser http://wr.rrv.1ir'*edin.com/lcgal/user-agrecmenr. 28

COMPLAlNT

22..

l,inkedln's lJserAgleemcnt cxplainsthat membcrsare grantcda limitcd and

with the teflns ofthe Uscr Agrecmcnl. and usc Linkcdlrr in accordance 2 rcvocableliccnscto acccss

23.

Linkedln's User Agrccmentspccilically conditionsmcmbers'right to acccss

andrclatcd ofdalascraping tcolDologies not to do so through the LNc 4 LinkcdlnoDthciragreeing nonexciusive, nonassignablc. stalcs,"wc granl you a limitcd. rcvocable5 conduct. Ihc agreemcnl wcb a gcncrillly available through licensc andrightto acccss thc Scrviccs, 6 n<.rnsublicenseablc (rrl rol lhroughstrdPin!:spideting nrobile or Linkcdlnauthorizcd application 7 browser. dcvice v'rilletl cot1sclll tlLtl.twithoul lh! e.\pr?ss cn!rling or othcr technt ogt or sofiru'e usr.l lo accc:ts

9 ol Linkedln or it\ lvlcmbcbr.k) view itllbmrrtion and usc thc ScNicesthat wc provide on
(l-nlphasis addcd.) $ebpagcs in aocotdancc with this Agrccn1cnt." t { ) I-inkcclln irrrd

ll

24.

"Do's and Don'ts'scction rcitcratcs lh l ofils ljscr Agrccmcnl I-irrkcdln's

scripts robots. dericcs. softwarc, ... lto I lu]sonlitlluitl or aulonlillcd may not "Lrndcrtrlkc t 2 mcnrbcrs or olhelscrviccs 'scrapc,' 'crarvl'ot'spidcr''any wcb pagcs to llcccss, t 3 olhcr Illcans or proocsscs "will only nraint{in onc lhalnrcnrbcrs Il|.lhcrstalcs in thc sitc." l'hc [JscrAgrccnrcnl l 4 containcd

l 5 I-inlicdlnaooount at any gi!on tinrc.""lvill usclthcirl rcll nrmc andorlly prcvidcdcoufatc

lirrthcr "will not !iolrtc any riBhlsol l,inkedln."As dcscribod to Linkcdln.",rnd t 6 inlirrmation ol lhcscprovisi()rls violalion ol each is in Ilagtanl l 7 bclow.thc Doc I)clcndants'conduct

l8 l9
25.

Linkcdln's liccrui(cr Sorvice rc!ruitcls thatallowscorpurilLu Linkedlnptoduct is a prcnriLrnr LinkcdlnRccruitcr

to locatcrnd fccruit top can(lidates.U[likc I-i icdln's Iicc. basicaccounlsfbr its 20 and hcadhunlcrs 1brthcir premium acccss. Linkedlnliccruiler rcquires users ft) paya nlonthlyl'ec 2T nrcmbers.

22

26.

growingscrvices More than Recruitcr is oneofl.inkedln'sf'astcst Lirtkcdln

pay to use Linkcdln Recruiter. Linkedln Rccrtlitcrusersiuclude 2 1 I 6,000 clicnts and companics ilr lhc counlry anlong resourccs departrnonts al soDleofthc most succcsslitlcompanics 24 hLLnan and recruitingfinns Ninety of$e Fortune 25 thousands ofodrcr large,rncdiumand small busincss useLinkedln ll.ecruiteror anothcrofLintedln's premium talent solutions 26 100 companics

2 7 ploducls. 28
5C:OMPLAINT

21.

Corporaterecruitcrsand headhunters purchase Linkcdln Rccruitermembcrships in

2 ordcr to searchlbr prospcctivecandidates amongLinkedln's hundrcdsof millions or nrcrroer 3 profiles. By using Linkedln Recruitcr'srobustandexclusivescarchtools, recruircrs can searcn
4 thc cnlire Linkcdln netwolk for top candidatcs' namcsand ptoiiles. Recruitcrsmay locatcand

5 contactmcmbcrs,including passivecandidatcs who may not be looking tbr ajob, by aocqssing 6 Linkcdln's plolcssionalnctwofk tluoLlghLirkcciln Rccruitcr. 7 8 9
28. l,inkcdln's'l echnol,gical Safcguards:rnd Sccurirv-Mc:Nurcs T0 I'rotectLiukodln Ag:ri st UnauthorizcdAcccss LiukedlnI'astidiously worksto protect the intcgrity and sccurity ofits networklnd

(hiDgs,i1employsan trmy ol lcchnologicalsaLguardsand barricN l0 systcms. Among olher

tl

dcsigned 10prcvonl dalascrapcrs andoihcrwrongdocrs liorrrgainiDg unauthodzcd aoocss to

sitc. t2 Linkoclln's

l3

29.

Onc suchsalcguard is Linkedln's progranr. I:US|-) lr[JSI-j inrposcs a limit on thc

an individunll,inkcdlnuscrnrry initialc on thc sitc. lhis limil is intcndcd to prcvctll t4 activilyLhill datasorilpcrs utilizingautonMtcd quic[1yaoccssing tcchnologics l'ront n subslantidl t5 woulcl-bo volunlcol rnclrlbcr prolilcs-.

t7

30.

Similarly, Linkcdln'sScntinel progr nr n)onitors andblockssuspicious activily

with parlicLrlal ("IP") addrcsscs.2 InlcrnclProtocol t8 associaled l9 3l . LinkedlnaLso ilnticipatcd thatdatasorapcrs mighl dttenlpt b creatc a multitudc ol'

20

lakc rncmbcraccounls. Accordingly,asa seconday layer of protcction,l,inkedln implenrentcd its

to 2 1 IJCV systerrto thwart this tnisconduct. fho UCV systemuscsa nunlbcr ofparaDrcters

22 23

detcnnine iIa ncw account signupis suspicious. lfa suspicious signupis iclentiticd, theUCV systcmimposesbarriersintcndcdto separatc lcgitilnateprospcclivemcmbersllom aulomatcd data scrapingprograms and bos. Specifically,rhe UCV sysrcminkoducesa CAp-l CHAr ticld thal

25 26

rcqulresprospcctlve ntcnlbcrsto rc-typea word or tcxt thot appears in obscured, coioredtype.

' An Il'address in thiscontext is alumericallabelassigncd to each access pointto thc Interne(. 27 t CAPTCHAis an for "Completely Automated PublicTuringtcstto tell Computers and "..onym Humans ADart." 28

COMPLAINT

'l'heseobscured words or text irrelegiblc to a rcal pcrson ancilamiliar to thosepurchasing

2 concertdckcls, lbr instance, as a conlmon stcp in an online rcgistralionprocess but difl'icult for 3 an aulomatcdprogramor bot to recognize.By using C,APl CHA.S, thc IJCV syste prevenlsdala 4 scraperc rcgisteringmany new and illegitimatcrnembcraccounts. from automatically 5
32. l-ir (edln alsocmploys technicalprolocolsdcsigncdlo prcvcnl unauthorizcd

6 autonlated botsand wcbcrawlcrs parts fton accessing othcrw-isc of the[,inkedln fublicly availablc 7 site. I(nownasr fobots.txl lilc, thissaftguind provides a scl ol instltlclions to any aulonatcd 8 lcchnologies visitingthc l-inkcdln robots.lxl sitc. Whilc LiDkcdlD's lile docspeDnitsomc
(c.g.9 u'ebcrawlers search engiucs suchas Googleol lling) to vicw lhc cntircsitc.il prchibjts and

t 0 is intenclcd to prcvcnt rlilornetcd programs likc thoscLrsed by datascrapers. ll t2

33. Thc l)oc l)ofcndants'D:rtaScrapingAclivitics llcl$ccn May 2013ancl knowinglyand thc prcscnt, thc Doc I)clcndants

I 3 intenlionally protocol cifcLlnlvcntcd IrtJSIi, Scntincl, thofobots.txt and/or othcr thc UCV systcrlr. t 4 l.inkcrllnsccurity nrc surcs in ordcrto cueirgc in thcirdatascrapints lctivilics. I5
34. I)urirlgthistirrrc pcriod.the l)oc I)oloDdanls cfoalcd thousands ol r)lolnbcr irccounls

l 6 (wi1hltrl(c nanles andcontlcl inlbflriltion)k) ircocss drlil liom rnanyLirrkeclln andsclilpe Inemb0l t't prolilcs. It3
35. lD ordcflo cl-ciltc cachand cvoryonc ol-thcsc lakenrcrnber accour)ts, thc Doc

l 9 l)elcndrnts hadto ag|ccto ahiclc by thc acocss in Linkcdln s IJser Agfccment, andusercstficlions 20 \thich. irlur rrlrr. prolribit -'scrapirg,spidering,crawliDgor olhcr lcchnologyor soliwarc usedto 2l
access datawithoullhc cxpress wl-illcn andrccluire consel)t ol LinkedlD or ils Mcmbers." that

2 2 nTembcrs "r.viLl only mirintair one Lirkedln account at any givcnlinrc" and"rvill uscltheirllcal 23 nameand only providc accumleinlbtmation to Linkcdln." 'l'he Doc Delindants knou'ingly 24 violated eachol'thesc access anduselestrictions in cltgaging inthcir unlawl.Lcollduot. 25
36. ln May andJune2013, the Doe Defendants FUSE wlich limits thc circumventcd

26 volume ofactivity fbr eachindividual account- by creatiDg thousands ofdiflerent ncrv membcr 21 accourtsthroughthc useofvaious automatcd technologies.Regislcringso many uniquenew 2 8 accounts allowcd the I)oc Dcfendants oflhousandsofnrcmber profiles pcr day. to view iTundrcds -7-

(ioMPI-AlNt'

37.

At the samctime, thc l)oc Del'cndallts also circumvertedthe UCV systetn by using

2 autornated tcchnologics1olcgister thousands without triggeting the offikc memberaccor.lnts 3 UCV systcm's imposilion of C,\P'lCIIAs. -l'hcDoc Def!nclants irlsocircr,rmvented andbypassed
4 ) 6

Linlcdln's robots.txtfile, which specilicallybansand is intcndedto prevcntthc useol unaulhorizcd aulomaleddatascrapingptogralnsand bols. 18. In early Seplcmbcr2011,thc l)oc l)el'enda|1ts agaii accesscd l-inlicdln's wcbsire

7 nnd crrgaged in ditta scrapingthroughthe uscofautontatcddatascrapingplogrants. ln so doing. 8 the Doc Delindanls circumvcntcdLinl(cdln's Scnlinelprogranl.\\hich lirlits thc nunlberolsucccssivc rcqucsls madeby an Il' addrcss or sctoJ ll) addresscs. l hcy alsocircuntvcnted thc

t0 frdlibitions sctli)[h i Linl(cdln's robols.rxt lilc.

ll 19. [,illkcdlniniliallyidcnrilicd thc Doc DclrJr]dants nliscondUot whcnit obscrvocllhrt

t2 thousdnds ol lirkcmcrnbcf accounts hadcollootivcly vicwcdntanylncmbcfprolllcsin a shorl

I] pcriodol tinrc. l,inkcdlndctcrminccl thatthc uscrlccountswcrc llkc allcr closeinspcction ol-

t4 dccounl dolails rcvc.rlcd clciu paltcnls ol auk)nlatioD. l,inkcdlD obscrvcd lhatthc aul(nnalcd bots
I 5 lhal werc un,ring llrcsclakcaccouDts woul(lusccachaccoull( to viow n snlallnumbcr ol pll)lilcs.
' bypassing thercby antlcircunrvcntiug ljLlSli s pagcvicw tcslrictions. andthenwoLrld irovc on l()

1 7 thc ncxtrcgistercd acoount lo vicw additional prolilest8

40. Linkedlnconductcd ar cxtensive invcstigalion ofthc I)oe I)clendants' misconduct.

1 9 In lhc coufso of ils invcsligatiolr, i1conlpilcd sprcadshccts tracking theIP addrcsscs used by the 20 Doc l)elendants. l,inkedlnalsoidelltificd ard cataloged tl]eI)oc I)eiindants'lakenrcmbcr 2l
proiiles, thc numbcr of lcgitimatc profilcs viowedby eachfakc mcmber, andthc dales andtimcsol'

22 the Doc Delendanls'activily on thc Linkedln \\,cbsite. l,inkcdln disabledthc ti*e DrcmDef 2 3 prolilcs and implementcdadditionallechnological sal'eguards to protccl againstunauthorized 24 acccss 1() lhc Linkedln site. 25
41. As a rcsult ofthis investigatio\ Linkedln dctct.mincd that tlrc Doe Dcfirndants

26 accessed Linkedln using a cioud computingplatlonn oltcred by Amazofi Web Sen,iccs (,,AWS"). 2 7 'fhis platform callcd ArnazonElasticComputcCllo[d or Amazon ]:C2 - allows userslikc the 2 8 Doe Delendants to rcnt virtual computcrs on which to rn their own computorprogmnlsand

COMPL IN'I'

applications.AmazonEC2 providesresizable computingcapacity. fhis fcatureallo\r'susersk)

2 quickly scalecapacity,both up and down. Amazon EC2 uscrsmay temporarilyrun hundrcdsor 3 thousaldsofvirtual computingmachines.The Doc l)eftndontsuscdAmazon EC2 to create
4 virtual machines to run automatcd bots to scrapcdatal'romLinkcdln's *,ebsite. 42. As a result ol Doe Delendants' uscofAnrazon!C2, t,inkcdlncxpects to be ableto

6 identifythc l)oc I)cfcndants by serving tltird-pa(ydiscovc|y on AWS.a I-inkcdlnintends to lilc 7 nlotions to cxpcditelhesedi$corery requcsts. 8
Doc Dclcndants Havc Crused and'l'hrertcn Ongoingand lrrcptrable Injury to Linkcdln 43. Ily cng.Lgiug in thc datascraping incidcnts dcscribcd abovc, thc l)oc l)eiendunts

l0 hayccauscd, andifnol halled will ooDtinuc to cause, ongoin!iand irreparablc harnt10Linkcdln,in tl l2

r varielyol *ays. 44. l hc thoLrsands prolllcsoreirtocl ol llke nlcnrbcr by thc Doe Delcnd ntsdisrupt and

t3 dcgradc )-inkcd)n's sitcandscNiccs thc accuracy andinlcgrilyol thc inlbrmation by rcducing lhc t4 sitc corrlains. l-inkcdln's nrcnlbcNcxpcct thc sitc to conlainaccuratcand lcgitirnatcprolcssi(nul t5 profllcs nol usoless liotions crolicdby ddtdscrtpcrs.
45. lhc proscncc ol lirl(cnrcnrbcr prolilcsalsoirnpairs lcgitirnatc lncmbcrs'ability 10

t7 idcntilyvalid professidralcontncls. ln pa(i0ular, l,inkcdlncnables bccause i(s nrcDrbcrs Io vicw l 8 whichuscrs havevie\\.ecl thcir proliles, whoscprolilcshavcbccn legitintatc Linkedlnuscrs l 9 viewedby a Doc l)cfcnddnl usinga fakcaccounl may bc 0onlused or mislcdwhentheysecthatan 20 unknown, litkcmember hasvicwedtheirprolilcs. Indced, l,inkcdlnobscrlcdsomeof its valid 2 l membersoltenpling to conncclwith theselikc nremberprofilcs after noticiug thatthc fakc 22 accounls hudvielved thcir profilcs. 23
46. l his type of poliulion to thc Lil)l(cdln network,il not haltcd,threatens ongoilg and

24 irrcparableharmto the iDlegrityofrhe Linkedln platfonn and Linkcdln's repulalion. Linkedln 25 2 6 a .See http://portal.aws.amazon.corr/gplaws/htnl-formscontrollcr/contactuvAWSAhuse#subpocna.s (detailingprocedures for scrviogthird-party discoveryon Amazon to obtain informationrelalingto "suspeclcd lllastic abuscof AmaT-on (Amazon Conpute Cloud f,:C2)"). 28

2'7

COMPLAINT

goodwill and trust, also will suffcr ongoingand irreparablc hann to the valuc ofils consumer

2 *.hich Linkedln hasworkcd hard for ycarsto carn irnd maintain,il the Doc l)cfcndants'conduct l 4
continues. 47. Irurther, by pilliring mcmbcr datolrom thc Linkedli site,thc l)oc Deienclanls

producL, 5 misconduct thrcatcns to degrade Lhe valuool l,inkcdln's Recruiter whichLinkedlnhas

6 investcd subst.rntially in ovcrthc ycars.Or information who havc andbclicf,lhe Doc Dclcndants, '1 irvested nonc ol-thcil ou,1ltimc and rcsourccs into developingand builclingthe l,inkcdln platform. 8 havccngagcdin thcir scrapingactiviticsi|r an altempl to cstablislr compctingrccruitingwcbsites
pKxluct. 9 andusurpLinkcdln'sl{ccruiter

10
ll

4ti.

'lhe DoeDelendants' nrisconc|.rol irlsohirsinposedsignitioanl strrinb un

LinkcdJn's scrvcrs, includinS throLlSh technoLogics 1ovicw mauymt:rrrbcr thc uscol lutonlatcd

1 2 pr ofi l c s.'lh cI)ocI)clcndarlts'ille g it in ra t c p ro lilo v ic ws jmp a irc d l, in l(c d ln ' s a l) i l i t y t o d c d i c a t c t3 its seNcrst()suppor'limg thc activilics ol lcgitirnatc Linkcdlnnrcnrbcrs.
l4 4.). l.inkcdlnhi|ssul'lcrccl and h s cxpcndod signilicant hr|nr to its compulcr syslcnrs,

limc, t5 hunun. lina cial.andtcchnological rcsourccs, including hundrcds ol hours ol crnplo)cc invcsligating ancl rcsponding !o thc I)oc L)clcnchots' Lrnlawlirl activilios, rt a cost10[.inkcdln ol'

1 7 Drorclhon lj;5,000. t8 t9 20 2t
50. 51. rlltsl Cl,AIM I,'Oll Rlll,llll'

Computcr !-raud and AbuscAct, ltl U.S.C.$1030el scq. Linliedln realleges and ircorporatcsby ref'ercncc all ol lhe prcccdingparagraphs. Linkcdln-s computcrs andscrvcrs arc involvcdin iDlelslatc and forcign conlrncrcc

22 andcommunicalion, andareprotected comlutefs undcr18 U.S.C.$1030(e)(2). 23

52. Ou inlbrmation and beliel, the Doe l)cfcndantsklowingly and intcntionall],

24 ilccesscd Li|kgdln's computcrsand scrvelswithout aulhodzationor in exoess ofthe aulhorization 25 permilledunderLinkedln's Uscr Agreenlentand in circumventionofvadous tcchnicalbarriers 26 includingFUSF, Scntinel,the IJCV systcm.thc robots.txtprotocol,aod additiorral safeguards 27 Linkedln hasemployedlo proteclLinkedln's computersand scrvcrslrom unatrthodzed acccss. 28
-10-

COMPLAINl

53.

On information andbelief,affcrgaining unauthorircd acc !ss to Linkcdln's

2 computers iuldscruers, theDoeDcfcndarls andused valuable informatjon from obtained 3 Linkcdln'sprotectcd computcrs andsenersin tlansaclions involvinginterstatc or forcign 4 communications ir violation of 18 U.S.C. This infornration includes, among othcr S 1030(a)(2).
profiles, 5 things, thecontcnts olmany Lintcdln membcr andthisuse,on inlbrmation andbeliet,

6 inuludcs. lnrong olhcr lhings. distributing rh t contcnr ro 6thcn, 7

5,1. l-lrcDoeDcfindants knowing)y, willf'ully.andwith an intentto dcfraud, acccsscd

8 Linkcdln's computcrs andscrvcrs without or in cxcess authorization ofauthorization andobtaincd valuable inlbrnratioD liom l.inkedln's andsclvers lhat, on inlbrrnation ancl bcliel. lhc computcrs l 0 Doel)clcndauts uscd in violalion to obluin somcthing ol valuc of l8 tJ.S.C. $ 1030(.rxa).

55.

Linkcdlihas suffercd oflhcscviolations, including, darnagc andloss by rcason

t2 withoutLinril{ti(nllufin to Linkcdln'scolnpulcr systcms, exl)clrses assooiatcd with bcinglbrccd

anosorvcrs, iulq l 3 to invcstigalc andrcspond to thcuflilrrthorizod acccss andabusc ol ils computers

t4 othcrlosscs anddanl gc in anarnounl at trial, in cxccss of$5.000aggrcgdtcd ovcrir lo bc provcn

pcfrod. 1 5 orc yoar
I6

56.

harm, In acldition, l,inkedln dndwill continue to sul'ler irreparablc and has sullbrcd

t7 ils rcmedy inllictcdby thc l)oc ill law is not itscll adcquntc to compcnsatc it for injuries t8 Dclcndnts, AcootclingLy, fciicl'. Linkedln is cntillcd to injunclivc
l9

SIiCOND CI-AIM FOII RITLIEF Crlifornir Comprohcnsivo Computer ,tndFraudAct,Cal.I'er!l Codc$502 rt scq. Access 57. 5ll. peLragraphs. Linkcclln rcallcges all ol theprooeding andiicorporatcs by feiercnce 'Ihc DoeDctbndanls oblaincd andused valuable information lionr wrongfully

20 2l 22

asallcged 2 3 Linkcdln's sitc, abovc. 59. TheDocDel'endants knor,vingly, fraudrrlcntly, andwithoulpermission accessed or

to beaccessed 2 5 causcd Linkedln's computcrs, systcms, and/orcomputer nctwork rn computcr vrolrtiun ol(hl. Pcnrl Codc S 502(c)(7).

2'7

60.

The DoeDefendants andwithoutpcrmission took,copied knowingly, fraudulcntly,

2 8 alrd)nade useofdata,andfiles liom Linkedhr's conputers, computer systems, and/or computer -t tCOMPLAIN-I

net$,orl(s, including to wrongfully control Code$ 502(cXl) suchdata,in violationofCal. Pcnal

2 &(2). 3
61. lhc Doe Delendants knorvingly,liaudulcntly, and rvithoul pcmrissiotr djsruptcdor

4 caLrsed the disruption ofl,inkedln'scomputcr to authorized users ol'Linkedln's scrvices 5 compulgrs. colr]putersystcors, and/orcomputcrnctworksin violation of Cal. PenalCode 6 S s02(c)(5). '7 62. As a dircct and proxinratcrcsultol'lllc Doc Delendants'unlawtirlconduct,thc Doe
h vc causcddamage U Delendanls to Linkedln in an anrounllo bc pro\.cnarllrial. Lil*edln is also lo fccovcrits rcasonablc l'enalCodc$502(c). 9 entitled attomey's lccspufsuant to California

l0

63.

L,iukecLln aclswcrervilllirlandrnalicious in thal bclicvcs thatthe Doc l)cicndants'

intcul1oiulprovc tlrcDoc t 1 Delirldants' Aots dcscfibed above wcrc donowith thc dclibemtc

1 2 I)clindanls'bLrsiDcss al Linkcdln's LinkcdJn is thc|clbre cnlitlccl k) purlilivo darnagcs. cxpensc. t3

64. ln atldition. I-inkedln 1('sullir ilfcpnrxblc harm,and hassulll.fcd and\4ill continuc

inllictcdby lhc l)oc t 4 ils rcnrcdy t lnw is nol ilsclladcquirtc tc il li)r injr|l.ics lo conrpens LinkcdlD t 5 Dcl'cndants. Accordingly, is cntitlccl lo ir,!nctivc rclicl.

l6 11 l8 l9

l tIllU) cl,AIM IrOli Rlit,Ilil' Violltiorts ol 'l'bc l)igi(nl MillcDniumCopyrigh(Act, l7 U,S.C.S l2{)l ct scq. 65. 66. paragraphs. l-inked)n reallcges andincorporatcs by relcrencc all ol thc prccocling pro(ecliors including valioushycrs o1{cchnological FIJSE. l,inkcdlrr cmploys

20 Scntincl, thc tJCV systern,lhe robots.txt protocol, andadditionalsafcguards - to prolect

protcction 2 1 l-inkedln's computersand scrr'crsfiom unaulhorized access.'fhcsc lcchnologioal

22 neasuresei1!otively control acccss to drecopyrightedmatedalson Linkedln's servers, including 2 3 the Lini<edIn website.membcrprofile pages, arrdthe Linkedh honcpageand newsieed,and 2.4 plotcct Li!)kcdln's exclusiverighls in thosccopyrightcdmarerials. 25
67. DespiteLinftedln's besrcllbrts to protectthe Linkcdlr site liom the Doe

26 Dcfcndants'unaulhorized access, the Doc Defendanls circunveuted [,inkcdln's tcchnological 2'7 safeguards ilcluding IUSE, SenliDel, the UCV system,thc robots.lxl protocol,and additional 28 - 12'

COMPLAINT

safcguards and gajncdunauthorized access to i,inkedln's copyrightcdrlaterials, including

()1l7 U.S.C.$ l20l(a). 2 wilhoutlimitation thecopyrighled Linkcdlnwcbsite, iD violation

68.

As a resl l olthc Doc Dei'erldants' is r.ronglulacts, Linledln hassr.rffered.

4 conlinuing to sul'fer, andwill continue to sullcrdarnagcs to be provcnal trial. Linkcdlnis lurther 5 cntitlcd io all plollls attribulableto llre Doe Dcfcndants'$ronglul acts b be provenat trial. 6 Alternatively, uponils eleolion is cnLercd. l,inkcdlnis enlitlcd to ut any tiolc bclofellnal iudgmcnt 7 tccoverslatuluy damages li om the Doe Dclcndarls pursuor'rl 10I 7 lJ.S.C. is I 20J lbr each.rolol
lt

circunrvcnlion commilted by thc l)oc Dcfcndarnts. 69. lhc I)oe Delendints circumvclrtions Linkcdlnilrcparable hlrn. alsohavccauscd

9 l0 tl

lJllless reslraincd andenjolncd. thc [)oc I)c]cndanls will conlinuo 1ocolnmilsrich acts. l,inkcdln's renrcdics al Ia$,arc u()ladcqllatc it lor thcscinlliclcdandlhrc tcncd k) conrpcnsale -s

t 2 injulics, andthusl,inkcdlnis 0ntitled prr)vidcd by l7 tl.S.C. 1203. to injunctivc rcLicfas tl t4 l5

16

I.'OUItl'II CI,AIM I-OR ItI|I,IEF llrcach of Col|ar{ct 70. 7t . parirgraphs. Linkcdlnrcallcgcs and incoqrol'atcs by |clc|cncc all of thc p|cceding scrvioos arc goverDcd by al)d tjsc ofthe l-illl(cclln wcbsitc andusool l-inkoclln

t7 subjcctto thc [JscrAgrccnrcnt. I8

12. Ljnkcdlnmeurbcrs arcprcsctrtcd with thc t]scf Agfcemcnl dndmuslalllrmativcly

l 9 accept thc lJscrAgrcenrcnl lo rcgistcr accounl. lbf a l,inkcclln 20 2l 22

1]. At all rclcva|tlinres. Linkcdlnalsopr-orninently displaycd a link to the tiscr

Agreemenl ou Linkedln's hontepage. 71. l he Doc Dcfcndants ?rnd atlirnativelyacccltcd acccsscd thc Linkedlnwcbsile and

2 3 agrccdto the UserAgrccmcntto, amongolhcr things,crcatctlre lake nrcmbcrprolilcs thal cnabled 24 the Doe Deilndantsto access Linkedln userprofiles and scrape ddtaf'rom Linkedln's \.vcbsile. 25 26
75. '76. Ihe User Agrccmcnt is cnforceablc and biuding on the Doc Dcfcndanls. 'l'he Doe Delendants the Linkcdln wcbsitewith knowledgeof repeatedly accesscd

2'7 the Uscr Agrccmenrand all ol'its prohibitions. Dcspitetheir knowledgeol'thc UserAgrccmcnt 2 8 and its prohibitions.the l)oc l)clendantsauoesscd acccss the Linkcdln websiteto, and continue1() - l3COMPLAINl

to crawl, or useother automated tcchnologyor softuarc to gain access amongothcr things, scrape,

maintaincd 2 the Linkedtn *cbsitc without the conscntof Linkedln. Moreovcr,thc Doe Defendants

3 morc thanone account(indeed,thousa[dsol'accounts)at any given timc. and did not provide lheir 4 real namcsor provide accuraleinformation1ol,inkedln. 5
11. l,inkedln has beenunablelo contaclthc Doc De|nddnts to dcmandthat they cease

Linkedll1docsttot desisttheir data scrapingand othcr l-inkcdln-relatcdaclivitiesbccause 6 .1nd olthc Doc Dcttndants. 7 know theideDtilies

ti

78.

iurd abovc,havewillfully, repeatedly, l'hc l)oc Del'endants' actions,us dcscribed

breached the User Agreen'lcnt. 9 systenlatically

t0

'19.

rcquircd ofit in andpromiscs covcnanls, Linkcdln haspcrformcd all oolditions,

u,ith thc User Aglccmcnt. t 1 accordancc

t2

80.

'l'hc I)oc Dcfcndants'conducthasdanragcdl,inkcdln, and causcd and continucs10

incparablc and incalculablc harmandiniuryto l,inkcdln. l 3 causc

l4

81.

and/or othcr danla8cs, rclicl.cornpcnsalory l-irkcdln is crllillcdlo irtiunctivc

t 5 cquitrblcrelicl. I6 t'7 l8 l9
82. 81. FIFTTI CI,AIM FOR RI'LIEF '[ rcsptrss pafagraphs. all of thepreceding Linkcdlnrcallcgcs andinoolporatcs by relercncc 'l'llc l)oc I)clcndants acccsscclaud wilhoutauthofization, intcntionally, ancl

compuler systcDls and l,inkcdln'swebsitc, with l,inkcdln,ircludilrgwithoullinlitation, 2 0 interacted

2l 22

setvcts. 84. thcrcin The Doe Delendants'aooess to l,inkedln and the inibrmationcontained

23 rcquiredthe Doe Delendantsto abidc by thc [JserAgrccmenl. By violating the termsofthc Uscr
and I-inkcdln's express effons to combattheir activitics,the Doe Defbndants 24 Agreement, wifh Linkedln, its websile,computcr to and intcrl'ered unla*firlly gainedaccess aDdintermeddlcd systcms, and its servers.

2',7 28
- I4COMPLAINl'

85.

'l he Doe Defcndanls'unauthorizgd interlerence with and access to l-inkcdln, its

2 wcbsite,computcrsystems, and its seNcrs,anong othcr'halms, reducesl,inkcdln's capacityto 3 serviceits uscrsbccause it occupiesand usesLinkedln's resources. 4
86. 'lhe Doe Defcndants'conductconstitutes trespass that ha$harmedand will

5 continuc to hamrl,inkedln.As a result. hasbeen andwill continuc to be damagcd. l,inkccllD 6

,]

87.

l,irtl<cdln hassufl'erecl and will continueto sui'ierirreparahlchamr,and its rencdy

at law is not itscll adequate to conlpcnsate it ibr injuriesinilicted by the l)oc l)ctcnclants. Accordingly. l,inkcdlnis eDlitlcd to injurrctivc rclict'.

9 t0 tl t2
88. t39.

sIXl'tt cl.AlM t'oR ttELIItF MisnDpropriation palagraphs. Linkcciln rcallcgcs by rclcrcncc and incoryoratcs irll ol lhc prcccding t.iDkodln hasinvestcd 1ime, labof,skill,{ncl lir)oncial rcsoufces into thc substantial

l 3 crcation andnraintonilnce ol l,iDkcdln, systcms audscncrs,including syslcm aud its cornplitcr t 4 scn'cr capacily,rs wcll as thc contcnl on thc I-inkcdln websilc,lvhich is tinrc scnsilir.e. t5
l6

90.

Wilhoutauthorizatior, wronglllly lcccsscd Linkcdln's thc l)oc l)clandants

wcbsilc, computcr syslcnrs rnd scf\,cls. andobtaiDcd dirlalroul thc Linkcdlnsitcwithouthaving

t7 to rnokelhc substiLDLial irlvcsl,ncnt in tin1c, skill,and linancial rcsourccs nradc by LinkcdlD. lirbof, l8
gL On inli)rnldtion and belicl,thc l)oc l)cfindants compcto with l,inkcdlnandhavc

l 9 nradcor itrlendto nr.rke data f'romthe Linkcdln sitc availablcto thcir riustonrcrs and othcl third 20 partics.As such.thc l)oc f)cl_endants' uscol-l,inkedln's computcr systcnls andservcrs, including 2 1 syslemand scNcr oi]paoity, as well as dirtaliom lhe Linl(edln si1c, constilulesliee riding on 22 Lirkeclln'ssubstanlial investmcnl of limc, cllbrt, andexpense. 23
92. As a rcsultofthis misdppropriation, thc Doc Dcfendants wrongfully compete,

and-/or enableothcrslo compete, \,ith Linkcdln, and Linkcdln hasbeen lbrcedto cxpend additionallimc and resourccs, including but not limited to, investigating and responding to the

26 Doc Dclendants'activil.ies. 2'7

93. LiDkcdlnhasbeenand rvill oonlinueto be danaged as thc rcsult ofthe Doc

2 8 Defendan{s'actso f misappropdation.
COMPLAINT

94.

to sufcr ineparablc injury,andits remedy Linkcdlnhassuffered andwill continue

inflictedby theDoeDefendants. 2 at la$'is not itselfadequate to comperNate it fbr injuries PRAYERT'ORRELIEF

4

bc e eredin its favorandagainst WIIEREFORE, Linkedlnpraysthatjudgment

aslbllowsr 5 theDoc Dcf'cndanls,

1.

injunclion enjoinilgand A preliminarl, injunction andpermancrlt

andall persons or cntities all DoeDefendants, theiremployecs, represcntatives, agents, 7 rcstraining pcrpetually tiom with thcmduringthependcncy ofthis actionandtherealler U actingin conccrt pulpose whatsoever, 9 accessing <I usingLinkedln'swcbsjtcfor any0onmercial l0 2. data, An ordcrrc<luiring to dcstroy all documents, and theDoeDcfcndants

or olherwisc, custody, or control, thatwcrcwroDgfully othcritems, elcclronic in thcir possession, iiorr l.,inkedln's websitc, t 2 copied

t3
15

3.

inch.tdirrg, but not limited An award to Linkedlnof rcstitution ard damagcs,

damagcs, aspcrrnitled by law; l4 to. compcnsatory, statutory, treble damages, a|rdpunitive 4. ofsuit,including, butnotlimiled to, An award to Linkcdlr ol ils oosts

reosonablc AllorDey's t'bcs, ospermitted by law; 1d

t'7 t I9

5.

SucholherrcliefasthcCourtdeemsjust andpropcr. DIiMANDTOR.'URY TIIIAL

jn theabovc-captioned lTereby action lhatare Linkcdln dcmands ajury trialolall issues

20 triablc to ajury.

6, 2014 22 DATED:January

TOLLF]S & OLSON MLINGEI{,

23 24
z)

26 2't 28
- l6COMPLAIN'I

Altomeys for Linkedln Coryortation