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 © 2025 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

ASACP Highlights Study on Parental Controls

The Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection (ASACP) is highlighting the results of a study on the underutilization of parental controls.

Sydney Screams Launches New Site Through Grooby's Blue.xxx

Sydney Screams has launched her new membership site, SydneyScreams.xxx, through Grooby's website management company Blue.xxx.

Mistress Mystii Is LoyalFans' 'Featured Creator' for June

LoyalFans has named Mistress Mystii as its Featured Creator for June.

Canadian Senator Revives Push for National AV Law

Sen. Julie Miville-Dechêne, whose previous multiple attempts to legislate national age verification requirements all failed, has introduced a new bill that would impose fines of up to $500,000 on adult sites that do not implement age verification for Canadian viewers.

FSC Submits Statement to House Committee in Support of FIRM Act

Free Speech Coalition has announced that it submitted a statement to the House Financial Services Committee in support of the Financial Integrity and Regulation Management (FIRM) Act.The announcement follows:

Plaiir Joins Pineapple Support as Supporter-Level Sponsor

Plaiir has joined the ranks of over 70 adult businesses and organizations committing funds and resources to Pineapple Support.

Trump Tariffs Remain in Effect Pending Appeal of Trade Court Ruling

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Thursday stayed an injunction by the U.S. Court of International Trade, delaying the trade court’s order blocking the Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs, which have significantly impacted the pleasure industry.

FSC Issues Guidance on Kansas Age Verification Suits

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has published an advisory article for adult websites operating in Kansas, following several private lawsuits filed under the state's age verification law.

Reese Rideout Relaunches Site Through YourPaysitePartner

Newly crowned XMA Creator Awards Male Clip Artist of the Year Reese Rideout has relaunched his website DrRideout.com through YourPaysitePartner (YPP).

Pineapple Support, SextPanther to Host 'Holistic PTSD' Support Group

Pineapple Support and SextPanther are hosting a free online support group for performers suffering from PTSD.

Show More