Case3:15-cv-00693 Document1 Filed02/13/15 Page1 of 23 6 AARON SCHUR (State Bar No. 229566) E-Mail: aschur@yelp.com 7 CONNIE D. SARDO (State Bar No. 253892) E-Mail: cdsardo@yelp.com 8 YELP INC. 140 New Montgomery Street 9 San Francisco, California 94105-3705 Telephone: (415) 908-3801 (415) 390-2127 10 Facsimile: ONE EMBARCADERO CENTER, 22ND FLOOR SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94111-3711 LAW OFFICES SIDEMAN & BANCROFT LLP 1 ZACHARY J. ALINDER (State Bar No. 209009) E-Mail: zalinder@sideman.com 2 ALLYSON M. FAIR (State Bar. No. 287926) E-Mail: afair@sideman.com 3 SIDEMAN & BANCROFT LLP One Embarcadero Center, Twenty-Second Floor 4 San Francisco, California 94111-3711 Telephone: (415) 392-1960 (415) 392-0827 5 Facsimile: 11 Attorneys for Plaintiff Yelp Inc. 12 13 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 14 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 15 16 YELP INC., a Delaware Corporation, Plaintiff, 17 18 23 COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF FOR: v. 19 EDWARD JAMES HERZSTOCK, ALEC FARWELL, and MELISSA SCHEINWALD, 20 individuals, doing business as YELPDIRECTOR, REVPLEY, and 21 REVLEAP; and DOES 1-20, inclusive, 22 Case No. 3:15-cv-00693 Defendants. 1. FEDERAL TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT; 2. FEDERAL TRADEMARK DILUTION; 3. FEDERAL UNFAIR COMPETITION; 4. CYBERSQUATTING; 5. BREACH OF CONTRACT; 6. INTERFERENCE WITH CONTRACTUAL RELATIONS; 7. CALIFORNIA UNFAIR COMPETITION; AND, 8. CALIFORNIA FALSE ADVERTISING. 24 25 26 27 28 1 COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF 3:15-cv-00693 Case3:15-cv-00693 Document1 Filed02/13/15 Page2 of 23 Plaintiff Yelp Inc. (“Yelp”), by and through its undersigned counsel, for its Complaint 1 2 against Defendants Edward James Herzstock (“Herzstock”), Alec Farwell (“Farwell”), and 3 Melissa Scheinwald (“Scheinwald”), doing business as Yelpdirector, Revpley, and Revleap, and 4 Does 1 through 20, inclusive (collectively, “Defendants”), complains and alleges as follows: 5 INTRODUCTION 1. 6 Defendants’ business willfully infringes Yelp’s trademarks, defrauds and spams 7 businesses that use Yelp, and seeks to undermine the integrity of Yelp’s platform. Millions of 8 people rely on online reviews from Yelp every day to help them make their purchasing decisions – 10 reviews are a trusted resource for consumers to learn about local businesses, unfortunately some ONE EMBARCADERO CENTER, 22ND FLOOR SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94111-3711 LAW OFFICES SIDEMAN & BANCROFT LLP 9 such as choices about restaurants, health clubs, mechanics, or doctors. While Yelp’s online 11 try to game the system and undermine that trust, by building businesses based on fraudulent 12 reviews, invasive spam, and conduct that otherwise violates the law as well as Yelp’s Terms of 13 Service (the “Yelp TOS”). Defendants’ websites, including www.yelpdirector.com, 14 www.revpley.com, and www.revleap.me 1 (collectively, the “Yelpdirector Sites”), are prime 15 examples of such unlawful and predatory businesses. 2. 16 Yelp was founded in 2004 to provide consumers with authentic reviews of local 17 businesses written by other consumers. Today, through Yelp owned and operated websites 18 (including www.yelp.com and related international websites) and mobile applications 19 (collectively, the “Yelp Site”), Yelp hosts over 67 million user reviews of businesses in dozens of 20 countries worldwide, and currently is accessed by approximately 139 million unique visitors every 21 month. 3. 22 The Yelp Site has become one of the most popular business review websites on the 23 internet because consumers trust that the reviews are genuine and unbiased. This established trust 24 1 Yelp is informed and believes, and on that basis alleges, that “Revpley” is a combination of “rev” from revenue and “pley” is yelp spelled backwards, and that “Revleap” is a combination of 26 “rev” from revenue and “leap” to denote a claimed increase in revenue. In addition, content from Defendants’ Revpley/Revleap websites has been propagated out to at least one other URL address 27 – http://thesocializerstech.com/rp. 25 28 2 COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF 3:15-cv-00693 Case3:15-cv-00693 Document1 Filed02/13/15 Page3 of 23 1 and goodwill is no accident––Yelp vigilantly protects the legitimacy and authenticity of the 2 reviews on the Yelp Site. To that end, Yelp commits substantial resources to prevent fake, altered, 3 or otherwise fraudulent reviews and to prevent improper or unlawful uses of the content and 4 information available on the website, including spam. 5 4. The Yelp TOS, which govern access to and use of the Yelp Site, explicitly prohibit 6 compensating someone or being compensated to write or remove a review, posting fake reviews, 7 and other conduct that could lead to biased reviews. A copy of the Yelp TOS, as they existed at 8 all times relevant to this Complaint, is attached hereto as Exhibit 1. 5. Through creation of accounts on Yelp, as well as their use of the Yelp Site, 10 Defendants agreed to the Yelp TOS, including through the Yelp account registration process. ONE EMBARCADERO CENTER, 22ND FLOOR SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94111-3711 LAW OFFICES SIDEMAN & BANCROFT LLP 9 11 6. Yelp enforces compliance with the Yelp TOS in a number of ways, including by 12 developing sophisticated technology to detect and marginalize fake or suspicious reviews, 13 investigating businesses that post or purchase fake reviews, working with regulatory authorities to 14 crack down on such businesses, and warning consumers about such businesses through consumer 15 alerts. Yelp also takes spam very seriously and does not tolerate third parties, like Defendants, 16 attempting to spam businesses listed on Yelp with confusing, unwanted, and false messaging. 17 7. In or about November 2013, Yelp learned that Defendants were operating a website 18 called www.yelpdirector.com (“Yelp Director”). Defendants’ Yelp Director business purported to 19 sell business owners 4 and 5 star Yelp reviews and to “filter” or remove businesses’ existing 1, 2 20 and 3 star Yelp reviews. Defendants marketed and promoted these “services” by making 21 unauthorized use of Yelp’s registered trademarks and sending spam e-mail and text messages to 22 businesses listed on Yelp––including Yelp’s customers, prospective customers, and business 23 account users. These services also seek to induce Yelp users to violate the Yelp TOS themselves. 24 Additionally, Defendants’ spam promotional communications have confused recipients into 25 believing that Yelp was affiliated with or sponsored these unlawful communications. 26 8. Each of Defendants’ acts, as set forth in more detail below, is independently 27 unlawful under various state and federal laws and also violates the Yelp TOS. Following its 28 discovery of Defendants’ practices, Yelp directly contacted Defendants and demanded that they 3 COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF 3:15-cv-00693 Case3:15-cv-00693 Document1 Filed02/13/15 Page4 of 23 1 cease and desist their unlawful conduct, including ceasing their access of the Yelp Site and ceasing 2 use of Yelp’s registered trademarks in their communications with businesses. Despite being given 3 notice and an opportunity to change their ways, Defendants have refused to curtail, and indeed, 4 have expanded their unlawful business practices. Defendants’ unlawful actions have caused, and 5 are continuing to cause, damage and irreparable harm to Yelp and to Yelp’s users. Accordingly, 6 Yelp seeks injunctive, equitable, and other relief, including but not limited to actual, 7 compensatory, statutory, exemplary, treble, and punitive damages, as well as reasonable costs and 8 attorney’s fees in bringing this action. 10 ONE EMBARCADERO CENTER, 22ND FLOOR SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94111-3711 LAW OFFICES SIDEMAN & BANCROFT LLP 9 PARTIES 9. Yelp is and was at all relevant times a Delaware corporation with its principal place 11 of business at 140 New Montgomery Street, San Francisco, California 94105. 12 10. Yelp is informed and believes, and thereon alleges, that Defendant Herzstock is a 13 California resident, residing in Los Angeles County. Yelp is informed and believes, and thereon 14 alleges, that Herzstock also uses his first and middle names “Edward James” as an alias, to 15 conduct business and hide his true identity. Yelp is informed and believes, and thereon alleges, 16 that Herzstock, often using the alias “Edward James” is, and at all relevant times has been, a 17 registrant, co-founder, officer, and content provider of the Yelpdirector Sites. 18 11. Yelp is informed and believes, and thereon alleges, that Defendant Farwell is also a 19 California resident, residing in Los Angeles County. Yelp is informed and believes, and thereon 20 alleges, that Farwell is, and at all relevant times has been, a co-founder, officer, and a content 21 provider for the Yelpdirector Sites, and is primarily responsible for sending unsolicited spam e22 mails and text messages on behalf of the Yelpdirector Sites. 23 12. Yelp is informed and believes, and thereon alleges, that Defendant Scheinwald is 24 also a California resident, residing in Los Angeles County. Yelp is informed and believes, and 25 thereon alleges, that Scheinwald is, and at all relevant times has been, the Vice President of 26 Development at the Yelpdirector Sites, and is also responsible for unlawful communications and 27 acts described below, in concert with Herzstock and Farwell, and on behalf of the Yelpdirector 28 Sites. 4 COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF 3:15-cv-00693 Case3:15-cv-00693 Document1 Filed02/13/15 Page5 of 23 1 13. The true names and capacities, whether individual, corporate, associate, or 2 otherwise, of the Defendants named herein as Does 1 through 20, inclusive, are unknown to Yelp 3 who, therefore, sues said Defendants by such fictitious names. Yelp is informed and believes, and 4 thereon alleges, that each of the Defendants designated herein as a Doe directed, conducted, 5 participated in, ratified, endorsed or was otherwise involved in, is legally responsible for, and has 6 liability, in some manner, for the events and acts alleged in this Complaint. Yelp will amend this 7 Complaint to reflect the true names and capacities of these Doe Defendants when the same shall 8 have been fully and finally ascertained. 14. At all times relevant to this action, each Defendant, including those fictitiously 10 named Doe Defendants 1 through 20, inclusive, was the agent, servant, employee, partner, joint ONE EMBARCADERO CENTER, 22ND FLOOR SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94111-3711 LAW OFFICES SIDEMAN & BANCROFT LLP 9 11 venturer, accomplice, conspirator, alter ego or surety of the other Defendants and was acting 12 within the scope of that agency, employment, partnership, venture, or suretyship with the 13 knowledge and consent or ratification of each of the other Defendants in doing the things alleged 14 in this Complaint. 15 16 JURISDICTION AND VENUE 15. This Court has personal jurisdiction over Defendants because the acts complained 17 of arise out of and relate to Defendants’ access to and use of the Yelp Site and because in doing 18 so, Defendants agreed to be bound by the Yelp TOS. In agreeing to the Yelp TOS, Defendants 19 agreed to “submit and consent to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction in, and the exclusive 20 venue of, the state and federal courts located within San Francisco County, California.” (Exhibit 21 1, Paragraph 13.) In addition, in accessing and using the Yelp Site to commit their unlawful acts, 22 Defendants repeatedly, knowingly, and intentionally accessed Yelp’s servers, located in this 23 District, in San Francisco, California. Venue for this action also properly lies in the Northern 24 District of California pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b)(2) because Defendants committed acts in 25 furtherance of their operation, and a substantial part of the property that is the subject of this action 26 is located within this District. 27 16. This Court has original subject matter jurisdiction over this action pursuant to 28 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1338(a), and 15 U.S.C. § 1121, because Yelp’s claims arise under federal 5 COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF 3:15-cv-00693 Case3:15-cv-00693 Document1 Filed02/13/15 Page6 of 23 1 statutes, including the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1051, et seq. 2 17. This Court has supplemental jurisdiction over Yelp’s state and common law claims 3 for relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1338(b) and 1367 because these claims are so related to Yelp’s 4 claims under federal law that they form part of the same case or controversy and derive from a 5 common nucleus of operative facts. 6 7 INTRA-DISTRICT ASSIGNMENT 18. In accordance with Civ. L.R. 3-2(c), this action is properly assigned on a District- 8 wide basis because it relates to Intellectual Property. 10 ONE EMBARCADERO CENTER, 22ND FLOOR SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94111-3711 LAW OFFICES SIDEMAN & BANCROFT LLP 9 FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS 19. In November 2013, Yelp discovered that Defendants were purporting to sell 11 business owners “4 and 5 star” Yelp reviews via the www.yelpdirector.com website in exchange 12 for a monthly subscription fee. Yelp discovered this activity after it began receiving complaints 13 from businesses regarding solicitations they received from Defendants. For example, Defendants, 14 through Defendant Farwell, sent business owners unsolicited spam e-mail messages falsely 15 stating: 16 “Hi there, 17 We invented a software that allows you to proactively generate a large number of 4 and 5 18 star reviews from your customers in a way that makes them stick to the front page of Yelp. 19 All reviews 3 star and below are filtered by the system and never posted online. 20 21 Inside 6 weeks you can easily take back control of your online presence. If I can help you 22 please call me at (424)256-5295, or email alecc310@gmail.com. 23 Best, 24 Alec Farwell” 25 20. In a similar fraudulent spam e-mail to another business owner, Defendants, through 26 Defendant Farwell, stated: “I work with one agency in Los Angeles, and in two months we’ve 27 gotten 500 4 & 5 star reviews on their Yelp profile. ... Specifically in the insurance industry, 28 individuals are looking at so many other resources to find you. And your customers put a lot of 6 COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF 3:15-cv-00693 Case3:15-cv-00693 Document1 Filed02/13/15 Page7 of 23 1 value on things like Yelp reviews. ... YelpDirector.com is giving control back to businesses, we’ve 2 invented our own ‘filter’. When your customer reviews you with our software, 1-3 Star reviews 3 are sent to your e-mail for quality control. 4 & 5 Star reviews are posted to Yelp.” 4 21. Defendants, through Defendant Farwell, also sent businesses––including Yelp’s 5 customers––spam text messages fraudulently stating, for example: “Hey...do you need help getting 6 your good reviews to stick to Yelp? I can also remove bad reviews..Let me know if you want help. 7 Best, Alec 424 256 5295.” 8 22. Defendants’ messages to businesses were knowingly false, including but not 10 ability to “remove bad reviews.” ONE EMBARCADERO CENTER, 22ND FLOOR SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94111-3711 LAW OFFICES SIDEMAN & BANCROFT LLP 9 limited to because Defendants have no ability to get good reviews to “stick to Yelp” and have no 11 23. Upon learning of Defendants’ activities, Yelp sent Defendants a letter advising 12 Defendants that their activities breach the Yelp TOS and infringe Yelp’s trademarks, and 13 requesting that they cease and desist from (i) accessing the Yelp Site, (ii) sending spam messages 14 to businesses listed on the Yelp Site, (iii) purportedly offering to alter, filter, post or sell Yelp 15 reviews, (iv) using the www.yelpdirector.com domain name, and (v) otherwise infringing the Yelp 16 trademarks by prominently displaying them in their advertising, website, domain name, and other 17 promotional materials. 18 24. Defendants initially indicated they would comply with Yelp’s requests. Defendant 19 Herzstock stated in e-mail correspondence with Yelp that Defendants could “see how the usage of 20 ‘yelp’ within the domain name and domain is too close for comfort. All material that includes this 21 will be discarded.” Defendants also agreed to otherwise stop referencing Yelp in their materials, 22 stating in January of 2014 that since Yelp had reached out to them, “Revleap has not contacted 23 businesses . . . in relation to Yelp.” 24 25. Their representations were false and instead of complying with their promised 25 actions, Defendants renewed and expanded their activities through two new websites, 26 www.revpley.com and www.revleap.me, where Defendants fraudulently boast: 27 a. “Revleap seamlessly connects your positive customer reviews with your 28 Yelp account”; 7 COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF 3:15-cv-00693 Case3:15-cv-00693 Document1 Filed02/13/15 Page8 of 23 b. 1 “Our software license will allow you to be one of the highest ranked 2 businesses in your community through Yelp”; c. 3 “The software uses your customers and connects them to Yelp with cutting 4 edge technology that you will own for life”; d. 5 “Our software posts a large amount of 4 and 5 star reviews to your profile in 6 a way that makes them stay in the recommended section, while getting rid of negative reviews”; 7 and, e. 8 “We enable [customers] to review you in a new way, and filter out the ones 10 ONE EMBARCADERO CENTER, 22ND FLOOR SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94111-3711 LAW OFFICES SIDEMAN & BANCROFT LLP 9 you would like.” 26. Defendants’ representations made in the course of advertising, marketing, 11 promoting and selling their goods and services are knowingly false, including but not limited to 12 because Defendants have no ability to get “rid of” or “filter out” bad reviews. 13 27. Further, the www.revleap.me website falsely advertises a “3 Year Track Record of 14 Success” with “1,315,069 positive reviews as of Thurs Feb 12 2015”: 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 8 COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF 3:15-cv-00693 Case3:15-cv-00693 Document1 Filed02/13/15 Page9 of 23 1 In addition, Defendants’ website falsely claims “Keep your positive reviews on the first page 2 while pushing your negative to the back.” and “All reviews are gathered, 4 & 5 Star are posted to 3 review platforms you designate. 3 Star and below are withheld in the Control Center for your 4 quality control.” 5 28. Meanwhile, Defendants, through Defendant Farwell, renewed sending businesses 6 listed on Yelp––including current and prospective Yelp advertisers––spam e-mails and text 7 messages with false promises of review manipulation, stating, for example: “Hey...do you need 8 any help getting your good reviews to stick to Yelp? Or removing bad reviews? I got your 10 unsolicited and fraudulent spam messages caused actual confusion and harmed Yelp’s goodwill, ONE EMBARCADERO CENTER, 22ND FLOOR SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94111-3711 LAW OFFICES SIDEMAN & BANCROFT LLP 9 number off Yelp. You can call me at 310-997-2079. Best, Alec, alec@revleap.me.” These 11 generating complaints to Yelp. For example, one individual posted a photograph of Defendants’ 12 spam text messages on Twitter and commented, “Wow. Getting text spam from @yelp pages.” 13 29. Defendants also began sending out deceptive and misleading promotional business 14 surveys in conjunction with offers to win gift cards. Yelp is informed and believes, and thereon 15 alleges, that to the extent any such gift card was actually awarded, a review of the business was 16 required to be eligible to win any such gift card. Yelp is informed and believes, and thereon 17 alleges, that if the completed survey was all positive, Defendants would then provide the 18 respondent with a link to the relevant business listing on the Yelp Site to write a review. That 19 such endorsements were incentivized by the opportunity to win a gift card would not be 20 reasonably expected by Yelp users who saw those reviews. Any such endorsements procured by 21 Defendants are therefore not only deceptive and misleading, but also constitute violations of 22 Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45, requiring the disclosure of a 23 material connection between a marketer and an endorser when their relationship is not otherwise 24 apparent from the context of the communication that contains the endorsement. 25 30. For example, one Revleap customer, SkyMaids, solicited reviews through a 26 Revleap program, which allowed SkyMaids to send emails to individuals containing survey links, 27 as shown in the screenshot below: 28 9 COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF 3:15-cv-00693 Case3:15-cv-00693 Document1 Filed02/13/15 Page10 of 23 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 ONE EMBARCADERO CENTER, 22ND FLOOR SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94111-3711 LAW OFFICES SIDEMAN & BANCROFT LLP 9 31. Individuals who responded positively to the survey were subsequently directed to 11 write reviews on Yelp in order to be entered into a raffle for a $100 gift card to one of a selection 12 of merchants: 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 32. Notwithstanding their use of Defendants’ services, however, SkyMaids maintains a 22 1.5 average star rating out of a maximum of 5 stars on Yelp: 23 24 25 26 27 28 10 COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF 3:15-cv-00693 Case3:15-cv-00693 Document1 Filed02/13/15 Page11 of 23 1 THE YELP TOS 33. 2 When a user logs into the Yelp Site or creates a Yelp account, the user must agree 3 to the Yelp TOS, which govern access to and use of the Yelp Site. Each Defendant created a Yelp 4 user account and has accessed the Yelp Site to contribute reviews and other content. As such, 5 Defendants have agreed to and are bound by the Yelp TOS. (See Exhibit 1, Paragraph 1.) 34. 6 In doing so, Defendants further agreed not to “assist, encourage, or enable others” 7 to violate Yelp’s Content Guidelines. A copy of the Yelp Content Guidelines, as they existed at 8 all times relevant to this Complaint, is attached hereto as Exhibit 2. Defendants’ conduct as 10 Content Guidelines, including but not limited to the Restrictions in Paragraph 6 of the Yelp TOS. ONE EMBARCADERO CENTER, 22ND FLOOR SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94111-3711 LAW OFFICES SIDEMAN & BANCROFT LLP 9 alleged herein has breached, and continues to breach, numerous provisions of the Yelp TOS and 11 THE YELP TRADEMARKS 35. 12 In addition to violating the Yelp TOS, Defendants have infringed, and continue to 13 infringe, Yelp’s trademark rights by prominently displaying various federally-registered Yelp 14 trademarks on their websites and in their advertising. 36. 15 Yelp is the owner of numerous federally-registered trademarks for YELP and 16 related YELP logos, including: 17 SERVICE MARK 18 YELP REGISTRATION NUMBER 3,660,122 YELP 3,660,119 YELP 3,181,664 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 SERVICES Online social networking services, in International Class 45. Providing online electronic bulletin boards for transmission of messages among computer users concerning rankings, ratings, reviews, referrals, and recommendations relating to business organizations and service providers, in International Class 38. Providing telephone directory information via global communications networks; Providing an online interactive website obtaining users comments concerning business organizations, service providers, and other resources; Providing information, namely, compilations, rankings, ratings, reviews, referrals and recommendations relating to business organizations, service providers, and other resources using a global computer network, in International Class 35. 28 11 COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF 3:15-cv-00693 Case3:15-cv-00693 Document1 Filed02/13/15 Page12 of 23 1 3,938,129 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 3,660,123 10 ONE EMBARCADERO CENTER, 22ND FLOOR SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94111-3711 LAW OFFICES SIDEMAN & BANCROFT LLP 9 Providing an online interactive website obtaining users' comments concerning consumer information about businesses, service providers, events, public services and government agencies, parks and recreational areas, religious organizations, and nonprofit organizations; providing consumer information, namely, compilations, rankings, ratings, reviews, referrals and recommendations relating to businesses, service providers, events, public services and government agencies, parks and recreational areas, religious organizations, and nonprofit organizations using a global computer network, in International Class 35. Online social networking services, in International Class 45. 11 12 3,660,120 Providing online electronic bulletin boards for transmission of messages among computer users concerning rankings, ratings, reviews, referrals, and recommendations relating to business organizations and service providers, in International Class 38. 3,316,616 Providing an online interactive website obtaining users' comments concerning consumer information about businesses, service providers, events, public services and government agencies, parks and recreational areas, religious organizations, and nonprofit organizations; providing consumer information, namely, compilations, rankings, ratings, reviews, referrals and recommendations relating to businesses, service providers, events, public services and government agencies, parks and recreational areas, religious organizations, and nonprofit organizations using a global computer network, in International Class 35. 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 (Collectively, the “Yelp Marks”). 25 37. The Yelp Marks are conspicuously shown throughout Defendants’ websites and 26 advertising, causing consumers to believe that Defendants’ services are somehow associated with 27 Yelp, when they are not. For example, the Yelp Marks appear in the www.yelpdirector.com 28 domain name, and throughout Defendants’ revleap.me website, including their advertising of “Our 12 COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF 3:15-cv-00693 Case3:15-cv-00693 Document1 Filed02/13/15 Page13 of 23 1 Service” as shown in Paragraph 27 above. 2 38. The Yelp Marks also repeatedly appear on Defendants’ social media pages 3 including Facebook and Twitter: 4 5 6 7 8 10 ONE EMBARCADERO CENTER, 22ND FLOOR SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94111-3711 LAW OFFICES SIDEMAN & BANCROFT LLP 9 11 12 13 14 15 16 39. Not only are consumers likely to be confused by Defendants’ use of the Yelp 17 Marks, as set forth above, Yelp has experienced actual consumer confusion from individuals who 18 have complained to Yelp about Defendants’ services and spam messages, mistakenly believing 19 those services and spam messages emanated from Yelp. Thus, Defendants’ use of the Yelp Marks 20 has caused confusion or mistake, and deceived consumers into believing there is an affiliation, 21 connection, or association between Yelp and Defendants, or has confused members of the public 22 as to the origin, sponsorship, or approval of Defendants’ services by Yelp. 23 40. Not only does Defendants’ use of the Yelp Marks infringe Yelp’s trademark rights 24 by causing confusion among businesses as to the source of Defendants’ services, but it also dilutes 25 the Yelp Marks by associating the Yelp Marks with services that are not authorized by Yelp, 26 thereby reducing their distinctive character. Moreover, Defendants’ use tarnishes the Yelp Marks 27 because Defendants use them to falsely advertise and promote fraudulent, spam-ridden services 28 and to falsely claim to be able to undermine the integrity of Yelp’s business platform. 13 COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF 3:15-cv-00693 Case3:15-cv-00693 Document1 Filed02/13/15 Page14 of 23 1 Defendants’ willful infringement, related unlawful conduct, and the consequent harm to Yelp and 2 its users must be put to an end now and forever. 3 FIRST CLAIM FOR RELIEF 4 (Federal Trademark Infringement; 15 U.S.C. § 1114) 5 41. Yelp incorporates the preceding paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set forth 42. The Yelp Marks are valid, protectable service marks that have been registered as 6 herein. 7 8 marks on the principal register in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. 43. At least two of the Yelp Marks have been granted incontestable status by the 10 United States Patent and Trademark Office: U.S. Reg. No. 3,181,665 for YELP, and U.S. Reg. ONE EMBARCADERO CENTER, 22ND FLOOR SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94111-3711 LAW OFFICES SIDEMAN & BANCROFT LLP 9 11 No. 3,316,616 for the YELP logo. 12 44. Yelp is the owner and registrant of the Yelp Marks. 13 45. Yelp is the owner of all rights in the service marks that are the subject of the Yelp 14 Marks registrations. 15 46. As described in more detail above, Defendants have used the Yelp Marks in 16 connection with the marketing, promotion and sale of their goods and services without Yelp’s 17 consent, in a manner that is likely to cause confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive. 18 47. Defendants’ infringement of the Yelp Marks is willful. 19 48. Yelp has been, and continues to be, severely damaged by Defendants’ 20 infringement, including by suffering irreparable harm through the diminution of trust and goodwill 21 of Yelp’s users. An award of monetary damages alone cannot fully compensate Yelp for its 22 injuries, and Yelp lacks an adequate remedy at law. 23 49. As a result of Defendants’ unlawful conduct, Yelp is entitled to an injunction, as set 24 forth below, and an order of destruction of all of Defendants’ infringing materials. 25 50. In addition to injunctive relief, Yelp is entitled to all monetary relief and any other 26 remedies available under the Lanham Act, including but not limited to treble damages and/or 27 actual profits, reasonable attorney’s fees, costs and prejudgment interest, and/or statutory 28 damages. 14 COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF 3:15-cv-00693 Case3:15-cv-00693 Document1 Filed02/13/15 Page15 of 23 1 SECOND CLAIM FOR RELIEF 2 (Federal Trademark Dilution; 15 U.S.C. § 1125(c)) 3 51. Yelp incorporates the preceding paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set forth 52. The Yelp Marks are famous trademarks within the meaning of the Anti-Dilution 4 herein. 5 6 Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(c). 7 53. As a result of Defendants’ use of the Yelp Marks to send spam to businesses and 8 solicit reviews for compensation, over which Yelp has no control, the distinctive qualities of the 10 continue to be harmed. ONE EMBARCADERO CENTER, 22ND FLOOR SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94111-3711 LAW OFFICES SIDEMAN & BANCROFT LLP 9 Yelp Marks are being and will continue to be diluted, and Yelp’s reputation is being and will 11 54. Defendants’ acts have diluted and will continue to dilute the distinctive nature of 12 the Yelp Marks through blurring, in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1125(c). 13 55. Defendants’ acts have diluted and will continue to dilute the distinctive nature of 14 the Yelp Marks through tarnishment, in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1125(c). 15 56. The distinctive nature and reputation of the Yelp Marks is extremely valuable, and 16 Yelp is suffering and will continue to suffer irreparable harm, blurring, and tarnishment of the 17 Yelp Marks if Defendants’ wrongful conduct is allowed to continue. 18 57. The dilution of the Yelp Marks will likely continue unless the Court orders 19 injunctive relief against Defendants. An award of monetary damages alone cannot fully 20 compensate Yelp for its injuries, and Yelp lacks an adequate remedy at law. 21 58. Yelp is entitled to injunctive relief against Defendants, as well as all monetary 22 relief and any other remedies available under the Lanham Act, including but not limited to treble 23 damages and/or actual profits, reasonable attorney’s fees, costs and prejudgment interest, and/or 24 statutory damages. 25 THIRD CLAIM FOR RELIEF 26 (Federal Unfair Competition; 15 U.S.C. § 1125) 27 59. Yelp incorporates the preceding paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set forth 28 herein. 15 COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF 3:15-cv-00693 Case3:15-cv-00693 Document1 Filed02/13/15 Page16 of 23 1 60. The Yelp Marks are valid, protectable service marks that have been registered as 2 marks on the principal register in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. 3 61. Yelp is the owner and registrant of the Yelp Marks. 4 62. Yelp is the owner of all rights in the service marks that are the subject of the Yelp 5 Marks registrations. 6 63. Yelp operates under and uses the trade name “Yelp” in connection with its services. 7 64. Defendants have made commercial use of the Yelp Marks and Yelp’s trade name. 8 65. The nature of Defendants’ use is likely to cause confusion or mistake, or to deceive 10 Defendants, or to confuse them as to the origin, sponsorship, or approval of Defendants’ services ONE EMBARCADERO CENTER, 22ND FLOOR SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94111-3711 LAW OFFICES SIDEMAN & BANCROFT LLP 9 consumers into believing there is an affiliation, connection, or association between Yelp and 11 or commercial activities. 12 66. Yelp has not consented to Defendants’ use of the Yelp Marks or Yelp trade name. 13 67. Defendants’ unauthorized use of the Yelp Marks and Yelp trade name was willful. 14 68. Defendants’ acts constitute false statements in connection with products and/or 15 services distributed in interstate commerce, in violation of Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 16 U.S.C. § 1125(a). 17 69. Defendants’ acts have caused and are continuing to cause irreparable injury to 18 Yelp’s goodwill and reputation. An award of monetary damages alone cannot fully compensate 19 Yelp for its injuries, and Yelp lacks an adequate remedy at law. 20 70. Yelp is entitled to injunctive relief against Defendants, as well as all monetary 21 relief and any other remedies available under the Lanham Act, including but not limited to treble 22 damages and/or actual profits, reasonable attorney’s fees, costs and prejudgment interest, and/or 23 statutory damages. 24 FOURTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF 25 (Cybersquatting; 15 U.S.C. § 1125(d)) 26 71. Yelp incorporates the preceding paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set forth 72. Defendants’ registration and operation of the internet domain name 27 herein. 28 16 COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF 3:15-cv-00693 Case3:15-cv-00693 Document1 Filed02/13/15 Page17 of 23 1 www.yelpdirector.com is identical to, or confusingly similar to and dilutive of, the Yelp Marks 2 and the Yelp Site. 3 73. The Yelp Marks are famous, and were famous before Defendants began the 4 offending commercial activities described herein, and before Defendants registered the 5 www.yelpdirector.com domain name. 6 74. Defendants have registered and operated the www.yelpdirector.com domain with a 7 bad faith intent to profit from the Yelp Marks. 8 75. Defendants’ conduct described above, including its use in commerce of the 10 the source, sponsorship, affiliation or approval of Defendants’ services. Further, Defendants’ acts ONE EMBARCADERO CENTER, 22ND FLOOR SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94111-3711 LAW OFFICES SIDEMAN & BANCROFT LLP 9 www.yelpdirector.com internet domain, is likely to cause confusion, mistake, or deception as to 11 described above constitute false representations of fact that are likely to cause confusion, mistake 12 or deception as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or approval of Defendants’ services. 13 76. Defendants’ conduct has caused and is continuing to cause irreparable injury to 14 Yelp’s goodwill and reputation. An award of monetary damages alone cannot fully compensate 15 Yelp for its injuries, and Yelp lacks an adequate remedy at law. 16 77. Yelp is entitled to injunctive relief against Defendants, as well as all monetary 17 relief and any other remedies available under the Lanham Act, including but not limited to 18 cancellation or transfer of Defendants’ rights in any offending domain names, treble damages 19 and/or actual profits, reasonable attorney’s fees, costs and prejudgment interest, and/or statutory 20 damages. 21 FIFTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF 22 (Breach of Contract) 23 78. Yelp incorporates the preceding paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set forth 79. As detailed above, Defendants have each created a Yelp account, and in so doing 24 herein. 25 26 entered into and agreed to the Yelp TOS and Content Guidelines. (See Exhibits 1-2.) 27 80. The Yelp TOS state that “You agree not to, and will not assist, encourage, or 28 enable others to use the Site to...Violate our Content Guidelines, for example, by writing a fake or 17 COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF 3:15-cv-00693 Case3:15-cv-00693 Document1 Filed02/13/15 Page18 of 23 1 defamatory review, trading reviews with other businesses, or compensating someone or being 2 compensated to write or remove a review.” (See, Exhibit 1, Paragraph 6(A)(i).) 3 81. The Content Guidelines further state: “business owners should not ask customers to 4 write reviews.” (See, Exhibit 2, “Conflicts of Interest.”) 5 82. The Yelp TOS state, among other things, that “You agree not to, and will not assist, 6 encourage, or enable others to use the Site to:” a. 7 “Promote a business or other commercial venture or event, or otherwise use 8 the Site for commercial purposes;” (See Exhibit 1, Paragraph 6(A)(iv).) b. “Send bulk emails, surveys, or other mass messaging...;” (See Exhibit 1, 10 Paragraph 6(A)(v).) ONE EMBARCADERO CENTER, 22ND FLOOR SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94111-3711 LAW OFFICES SIDEMAN & BANCROFT LLP 9 11 c. “Violate any applicable law;” (See Exhibit 1, Paragraph 6(A)(vii).); or, 12 d. “Record, process, or mine information about other users.” (See Exhibit 1, 13 Paragraph 6(B)(vi).) 14 83. Yelp has performed all conditions, covenants, and promises required on its part to 15 be performed in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Yelp TOS. 16 84. Defendants have breached the Yelp TOS by, among other things: 17 a. Soliciting Yelp reviews for Defendants’ business owner customers; 18 b. Offering Yelp reviews for sale; 19 c. Promoting their businesses and commercial ventures on the Yelp Site, and 20 using the Yelp Site for commercial purposes, by soliciting customers on the Yelp Site and making 21 their false representations regarding services relating to the Yelp Site; d. 22 Sending bulk and fraudulent spam e-mail and text solicitations to Yelp users 23 and business owners; 24 e. Violating numerous laws related to their use of the Yelp Marks and the f. Recording, processing, or mining information about other users for the 25 Yelp Site; and, 26 27 purpose of Defendants’ fraudulent spam marketing and other commercial activities. 28 85. As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ breaches of the Yelp TOS, 18 COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF 3:15-cv-00693 Case3:15-cv-00693 Document1 Filed02/13/15 Page19 of 23 1 Defendants have caused damages to Yelp in an amount to be proven at trial. 2 SIXTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF 3 (Interference with Contractual Relations) 4 86. Yelp incorporates the preceding paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set forth 87. Each Yelp user must agree to the Yelp TOS. As such, Yelp maintains contracts 5 herein. 6 7 and existing business relationships with each user that creates a Yelp account or otherwise 8 accesses the Yelp Site. 88. Defendants have knowledge of these contracts and/or existing business 10 relationships, including without limitation, through their own creation of accounts with Yelp and ONE EMBARCADERO CENTER, 22ND FLOOR SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94111-3711 LAW OFFICES SIDEMAN & BANCROFT LLP 9 11 through their use of the Yelp Site in their unlawful marketing, promotion and sales efforts. 12 89. Defendants intentionally interfered with and disrupted the performance of these 13 contracts and/or existing business relationships, and prevented performance of the same, for 14 Defendants’ own commercial gain, by inducing certain Yelp users to violate the Yelp TOS, as 15 alleged above. 16 90. As a result of Defendants’ actions, Yelp has been damaged in an amount to be 17 proven at trial. Defendants’ conduct was a substantial factor in causing Yelp harm. Defendants’ 18 conduct has been malicious, fraudulent, and oppressive and entitles Yelp to an award of punitive 19 and/or exemplary damages. 20 SEVENTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF 21 (California Unfair Competition; Cal. Bus. Prof. Code §§ 17200, et seq.) 22 91. Yelp incorporates the preceding paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set forth 92. Defendants have engaged in fraudulent, unlawful, and unfair business acts or 23 herein. 24 25 practices, as defined by Cal. Bus. Prof. Code §§ 17200, et seq., by committing the illegal acts and 26 practices as alleged herein, all in an effort to gain unfair competitive advantage over Yelp. 27 Defendants’ misconduct was unlawful because, as described herein, their misconduct constitutes 28 violations of numerous state and federal statutes, including but not limited to state false 19 COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF 3:15-cv-00693 Case3:15-cv-00693 Document1 Filed02/13/15 Page20 of 23 1 advertising laws such as Cal. Bus. Prof. Code § 17500, in addition to the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. 2 §§ 1114 and 1125, and the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45. Their misconduct was 3 fraudulent, including but not limited to the false statements Defendants made to Yelp and Yelp’s 4 users, as detailed above and in the false advertising claim for relief below. Further, their 5 misconduct was unfair in that Defendants’ actions, as described herein, significantly threatened 6 and/or harmed competition. 7 93. These fraudulent, unlawful, and unfair business acts or practices were committed 8 pursuant to Defendants’ business marketing, promotional and sales efforts in relation to the Yelp 10 ONE EMBARCADERO CENTER, 22ND FLOOR SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94111-3711 LAW OFFICES SIDEMAN & BANCROFT LLP 9 Site. 94. As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ unlawful, unfair and fraudulent 11 business practices, Yelp has suffered and will continue to suffer substantial pecuniary losses and 12 irreparable injury to its business reputation and goodwill. As such, Yelp’s remedy at law is not 13 adequate to compensate for the injuries inflicted by Defendants. Accordingly, Yelp is entitled to 14 temporary, preliminary, and permanent injunctive relief against Defendants, in addition to 15 restitution in an amount to be proven at trial. 16 EIGHTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF 17 (California False Advertising; Cal. Bus. Prof. Code §§ 17500, et seq.) 18 95. Yelp incorporates the preceding paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set forth 96. Defendants’ dissemination of, and offer to disseminate, misleading consumer 19 herein. 20 21 reviews amounts to false advertising designed to benefit Defendants’ clients’ businesses. 22 97. Defendants’ actions are likely to deceive the public into believing the reviews are 23 uncompensated, objective customer reviews of Defendants’ clients’ services, and Defendants have 24 engaged in these actions with the intent to induce the public to engage into business transactions 25 with Defendants’ clients. Such actions constitute unfair, deceptive, untrue or misleading 26 advertising under Cal. Bus. Prof. Code § 17500. 27 98. Defendants knew that the reviews they disseminated were misleading as 28 Defendants’ business goal was to artificially bolster their clients’ businesses. 20 COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF 3:15-cv-00693 Case3:15-cv-00693 Document1 Filed02/13/15 Page21 of 23 1 99. Defendants further falsely advertise the nature of their own services. Defendants 2 advertise: “Our software license will allow you to be one of the highest ranked businesses in your 3 community through Yelp”; “The software uses your customers and connects them to Yelp with 4 cutting edge technology that you will own for life”; “It should not be a bidding war or extortion, 5 you decide what your Yelp looks like, forever,” and “We enable them to review you in a new way, 6 and filter out the ones you would like.” However, Defendants have admitted to Yelp that these 7 representations are “just some marketing, seems like consumers respond to it.” Indeed, 8 Defendants do not have the ability to actually provide the services that they falsely and 10 ONE EMBARCADERO CENTER, 22ND FLOOR SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94111-3711 LAW OFFICES SIDEMAN & BANCROFT LLP 9 misleadingly advertise and offer. 100. Yelp has suffered injury-in-fact as a result of Defendants’ false advertising in the 11 form of lost sales, lost profits, actual damages, and confusion in the marketplace regarding the 12 nature of the services offered by Yelp. 13 101. Defendants’ acts described above have greatly and irreparably damaged Yelp and 14 will continue to damage Yelp unless enjoined by this Court. An award of monetary relief alone 15 cannot fully compensate Yelp for its injuries, and Yelp lacks an adequate remedy at law. 16 Accordingly, Yelp is entitled to an injunction under Cal. Bus. Prof. Code § 17545, as well as 17 restitution and statutory penalties to be determined at trial. 18 PRAYER FOR RELIEF 19 WHEREFORE, Yelp respectfully prays that the Court enter judgment as follows: 20 1. That Defendants infringed the Yelps Marks, and engaged in trademark dilution, 21 unfair competition, and cybersquatting through their use of the Yelp Marks; 22 2. That Defendants’ trademark infringement was knowing and willful and committed 23 with bad faith and intent to deceive and that this case is exceptional under 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a); 24 3. That Defendants engaged in unfair competition, false advertising and also have 25 breached the Yelp TOS and interfered with Yelp’s contractual relations by engaging in the 26 unlawful conduct described above; 27 4. That the Court enter an order enjoining and restraining Defendants, and all persons 28 or entities acting as agents of or in concert with Defendants, during the pendency of this action and 21 COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF 3:15-cv-00693 Case3:15-cv-00693 Document1 Filed02/13/15 Page22 of 23 1 thereafter perpetually, from: a. 2 infringing, diluting, or cybersquatting on the Yelp Marks in any way, 3 including but not limited to through or on the Yelpdirector Sites or any related promotional 4 materials; b. 5 accessing or attempting to access the Yelp Site and/or any Yelp computer 6 systems or information on the Yelp Site or the Yelp computer systems; c. 7 accessing or using any information or data regarding Yelp or its users that 8 Defendants have obtained from the Yelp Site or any Yelp computer systems; d. initiating, sending or procuring the initiation or sending of any unsolicited 10 commercial electronic mail or text message to Yelp or any Yelp user regarding Defendants’ ONE EMBARCADERO CENTER, 22ND FLOOR SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94111-3711 LAW OFFICES SIDEMAN & BANCROFT LLP 9 11 business practices described herein; e. 12 engaging in any activity that violates the Yelp TOS, including but not 13 limited to: 14 i. Soliciting Yelp reviews from Yelp users; 15 ii. Offering Yelp reviews for sale; 16 iii. Promoting businesses or commercial ventures on the Yelp Site, and 17 using the Yelp Site for commercial purposes, including but not limited to falsely advertising 18 Defendants’ own business activities in relation to the Yelp Site; 19 iv. Sending unsolicited e-mail or text messages to Yelp users; and, 20 v. Recording, processing, or mining any information about Yelp users 21 for any purpose. 22 5. That the Court enter an order transferring the www.yelpdirector.com domain to 23 Yelp and requiring Defendants to conform any other websites in their possession, custody or 24 control to comply with the judgment and injunctive relief entered by the Court; 25 6. That Plaintiff be awarded actual damages and Defendants’ profits, as well as full 26 restitution from Defendants; 27 7. That Plaintiff be awarded statutory damages and/or penalties; 28 8. That Plaintiff be awarded its reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, as well as 22 COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF 3:15-cv-00693 Case3:15-cv-00693 Document1 Filed02/13/15 Page23 of 23 1 prejudgment interest to the extent available under the law; 2 9. That Plaintiff be awarded treble and punitive damages; and, 3 10. That Plaintiff be granted such other and further relief as the Court deems just and 4 proper. 5 DATED: February 13, 2015 SIDEMAN & BANCROFT LLP 6 7 By: /s/ Zachary J. Alinder Zachary J. Alinder Attorneys for Plaintiff YELP INC. 8 10 ONE EMBARCADERO CENTER, 22ND FLOOR SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94111-3711 LAW OFFICES SIDEMAN & BANCROFT LLP 9 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 23 COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF 3:15-cv-00693 Documentl-l Filed02/13/15 Pagel of5 EXHIBIT 1 Terms of Service   Yelp Case3:15-cv-00693 Document1-1 Filed02/13/15 Page2 of 5 Find tacos, cheap dinner, Max’s   Near address, neighborhood, city, state or zip Log In Home   About Me   Write a Review   Find Friends   Messages   Talk   Events Terms of Service Last Updated on November 27, 2012. These terms and conditions are effective immediately for those registering accounts after that date and will become effective December 27, 2012 for those with pre­existing accounts. To review the previous terms, please click here. These terms and conditions (the "Terms") govern your access to and use of Yelp's websites and mobile applications that link to or reference these Terms ("Site"). By accessing or using the Site, you are agreeing to these Terms and concluding a legally binding contract with Yelp Inc., a Delaware corporation headquartered in San Francisco, California ("Yelp"). Do not access or use the Site if you are unwilling or unable to be bound by the Terms. 1.  DEFINITIONS A.  Parties "You" and "your" refer to you, as a user of the Site. A "user" is someone who accesses, browses, crawls, scrapes, or in any way uses the Site. "We," "us," and "our" refer to Yelp. B.  Content "Content" means text, images, photos, audio, video, location data, and all other forms of data or communication. "Your Content" means Content that you submit or transmit to, through, or in connection with the Site, such as ratings, reviews, compliments, invitations, check­ins, messages, and information that you publicly display or displayed in your account profile. "User Content" means Content that users submit or transmit to, through, or in connection with the Site. "Yelp Content" means Content that we create and make available in connection with the Site. "Third Party Content" means Content that originates from parties other than Yelp or its users, which is made available in connection with the Site. "Site Content" means all of the Content that is made available in connection with the Site, including Your Content, User Content, Third Party Content, and Yelp Content. 2.  CHANGES TO THE TERMS OF SERVICE We may modify the Terms from time to time. The most current version of these Terms will be located here. You understand and agree that your access to or use of the Site is governed by the Terms effective at the time of your access to or use of the Site. If we make material changes to these Terms, we will notify you by email or by posting a notice on the Site prior to the effective date of the changes. We will also indicate at the top of this page the date that revisions were last made. You should revisit these Terms on a regular basis as revised versions will be binding on you. Any such modification will be effective upon our posting of new Terms. You understand and agree that your continued access to or use of the Site after the effective date of modifications to the Terms indicates your acceptance of the modifications. 3.  TRANSLATION We may translate these Terms into other languages for your convenience. Nevertheless, the English version governs your relationship with Yelp, and any inconsistencies among the different versions will be resolved in favor of the English version. 4.  USING THE SITE A.  Eligibility To access or use the Site, you must be 18 years or older and have the requisite power and authority to enter into these Terms. You may not access or use the Site if you are a competitor of ours or if we have previously banned you from the Site or closed your account. B.  Permission to Use the Site We grant you permission to use the Site subject to the restrictions in these Terms. Your use of the Site is at your own risk, including the risk that you might be exposed to Content that is offensive, indecent, inaccurate, objectionable, or otherwise inappropriate. C.  Site Availability The Site may be modified, updated, interrupted, suspended or discontinued at any time without notice or liability. D.  User Accounts You must create an account and provide certain information about yourself in order to use some of the features that are offered through the Site. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account password. You are also responsible for all activities that occur in connection with your account. You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your account. We reserve the right to close your account at any time for any or no reason. Your account is for your personal, non­commercial use only. In creating it, we ask that you provide complete and accurate information about yourself to bolster your credibility as a contributor to the Site. You may not impersonate someone else (e.g., adopt the identity of a celebrity or your next­door neighbor), create or use an account for anyone other than yourself, provide an email address other than your own, or create multiple accounts. If you use a pseudonym, take care to note that others may still be able to identify you if, for example, you include identifying information in your reviews, use the same account information on other sites, or allow other sites to share information about you with Yelp. Please read our Privacy Policy for more information. E.  Communications from Yelp and other Users By creating an account, you agree to receive certain communications in connection with the Site. For example, you might receive compliments or friend requests from other Users. You will also receive our weekly e­mail newsletter about happenings in your neighborhood. You can opt­out of non­essential communications here. 5.  CONTENT A.  Responsibility for Your Content You alone are responsible for Your Content, and once published, it cannot always be withdrawn. You assume all risks associated with Your Content, including anyone's reliance on its quality, accuracy, or reliability, or any disclosure by you of information in Your Content that makes you personally identifiable. You represent that you own, or have the necessary permissions to use and authorize the use of Your Content as described herein. You may not imply that Your Content is in any way sponsored or endorsed by Yelp. You may expose yourself to liability if, for example, Your Content contains material that is false, intentionally misleading, or defamatory; violates any third­party right, including any copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, moral right, privacy right, right of publicity, or any other intellectual property or proprietary right; contains material that is unlawful, including illegal hate speech or pornography; exploits or otherwise harms minors; or violates or advocates the violation of any law or regulation. B.  Our Right to Use Your Content We may use Your Content in a number of different ways, including publicly displaying it, reformatting it, incorporating it into advertisements and other works, creating derivative works from it, promoting it, distributing it, and allowing others to do the same in connection with their own websites and media platforms ("Other Media"). As such, you hereby irrevocably grant us world­wide, perpetual, non­exclusive, royalty­free, assignable, sublicensable, transferable rights to use Your Content for any purpose. Please note that you also irrevocably grant the users of the Site and any Other Media the right to access Your Content in connection with their use of the Site and any Other Media. Finally, you irrevocably waive, and cause to be waived, against Yelp and its users any claims and assertions of moral rights or attribution with respect to Your Content. By "use" we mean use, copy, publicly perform and display, reproduce, distribute, modify, translate, remove, analyze, commercialize, and http://www.yelp.com/static?p=tos&country=US 1/4 Terms of Service   Yelp Case3:15-cv-00693 Document1-1 Filed02/13/15 Page3 of 5 prepare derivative works of Your Content. C.  Ownership As between you and Yelp, you own Your Content. We own the Yelp Content, including but not limited to visual interfaces, interactive features, graphics, design, compilation, including, but not limited to, our compilation of User Content and other Site Content, computer code, products, software, aggregate user review ratings, and all other elements and components of the Site excluding Your Content, User Content and Third Party Content. We also own the copyrights, trademarks, service marks, trade names, and other intellectual and proprietary rights throughout the world ("IP Rights") associated with the Yelp Content and the Site, which are protected by copyright, trade dress, patent, trademark laws and all other applicable intellectual and proprietary rights and laws. As such, you may not modify, reproduce, distribute, create derivative works or adaptations of, publicly display or in any way exploit any of the Yelp Content in whole or in part except as expressly authorized by us. Except as expressly and unambiguously provided herein, we do not grant you any express or implied rights, and all rights in and to the Site and the Yelp Content are retained by us. D.  Advertising Yelp and its licensees may publicly display advertisements and other information adjacent to or included with Your Content. You are not entitled to any compensation for such advertisements. The manner, mode and extent of such advertising are subject to change without specific notice to you. E.  Content Feeds We make some of the Site Content ("Feed Content") available via Real Simple Syndication and Atom feeds ("Feeds"). You may access and use the Feeds in order to display Feed Content on your personal computer, website, or blog ("Your Site"), provided that (i) your use of the Feeds is for personal, non­commercial purposes only, (ii) your display of the Feed Content links back to the relevant pages on Yelp's websites, and attributes Yelp as the source of the Feed Content, (iii) your use or display of the Feed Content does not suggest that Yelp promotes or endorses any third party causes, ideas, websites, products or services, including Your Site, (iv) you do not redistribute the Feed Content, and (v) your use of the Feeds does not overburden Yelp's systems. Yelp reserves all rights in the Feed Content and may terminate the Feeds at any time. Please select "Partnerships" on our contacts page here to inquire about other possible uses of the Feeds. F.  Other User Content (including any that may have been created by users employed or contracted by Yelp) does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Yelp. We reserve the right to remove, screen, edit, or reinstate User Content from time to time at our sole discretion for any reason or no reason, and without notice to you. For example, we may remove a review if we believe it violates our Content Guidelines. We have no obligation to retain or provide you with copies of Your Content, nor do we guarantee any confidentiality with respect to Your Content. 6.  RESTRICTIONS We are under no obligation to enforce the Terms on your behalf against another user. While we encourage you to let us know if you believe another user has violated the Terms, we reserve the right to investigate and take appropriate action at our sole discretion. A.  You agree not to, and will not assist, encourage, or enable others to use the Site to: i.  Violate our Content Guidelines, for example, by writing a fake or defamatory review, trading reviews with other businesses, or compensating someone or being compensated to write or remove a review; ii.  Violate any third party's rights, including any breach of confidence, copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, moral right, privacy right, right of publicity, or any other intellectual property or proprietary right; iii.  Threaten, stalk, harm, or harass others, or promote bigotry or discrimination; iv.  Promote a business or other commercial venture or event, or otherwise use the Site for commercial purposes, except in connection with a Business Account and as expressly permitted by Yelp; v.  Send bulk emails, surveys, or other mass messaging, whether commercial in nature or not; engage in keyword spamming, or otherwise attempt to manipulate the Site's search results or any third party website; vi.  Solicit personal information from minors, or submit or transmit pornography; or vii.  Violate any applicable law. B.  You also agree not to, and will not assist, encourage, or enable others to: i.  Violate the Terms; ii.  Modify, adapt, appropriate, reproduce, distribute, translate, create derivative works or adaptations of, publicly display, sell, trade, or in any way exploit the Site or Site Content (other than Your Content), except as expressly authorized by Yelp; iii.  Use any robot, spider, site search/retrieval application, or other automated device, process or means to access, retrieve, scrape, or index any portion of the Site or any Site Content; iv.  Reverse engineer any portion of the Site; v.  Remove or modify any copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights notice that appears on any portion of the Site or on any materials printed or copied from the Site; vi.  Record, process, or mine information about other users; vii.  Access, retrieve or index any portion of the Site for purposes of constructing or populating a searchable database of business reviews; viii.  Reformat or frame any portion of the Site; ix.  Take any action that imposes, or may impose, in our sole discretion, an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on Yelp's technology infrastructure or otherwise make excessive traffic demands of the Site; x.  Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Site, user accounts, computer systems or networks connected to the Site through hacking, password mining or any other means; xi.  Use the Site or any Site Content to transmit any computer viruses, worms, defects, Trojan horses or other items of a destructive nature (collectively, "Viruses"); xii.  Use any device, software or routine that interferes with the proper working of the Site, or otherwise attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Site; xiii.  Use the Site to violate the security of any computer network, crack passwords or security encryption codes; disrupt or interfere with the security of, or otherwise cause harm to, the Site or Site Content; or xiv.  Remove, circumvent, disable, damage or otherwise interfere with any security­related features of the Site, features that prevent or restrict the use or copying of Site Content, or features that enforce limitations on the use of the Site. The restrictions above only apply to the extent permissible under applicable law. Nevertheless, you agree not to act contrary to them (even if permissible under applicable law) without providing 30 days' prior written notice to us here, together with any information that we may reasonably require to give us an opportunity to provide alternative remedies or otherwise accommodate you at our sole discretion. 7.  GUIDELINES AND POLICIES A.  Content Guidelines You represent that you have read and understood our Content Guidelines. B.  Privacy You represent that you have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Note that we may disclose information about you to third parties if we have a good faith belief that such a disclosure is reasonably necessary to (i) take action regarding suspected illegal activities; (ii) enforce or apply our Terms and Privacy Policy; (iii) comply with legal process or other government inquiry, such as a search warrant, subpoena, statute, judicial proceeding, or other legal process served on us; or (iv) protect our rights, reputation, and property, or that of our users, affiliates, or the public. If you use the Site outside of the United States, you consent to having your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States. http://www.yelp.com/static?p=tos&country=US 2/4 Terms of Service   Yelp Case3:15-cv-00693 Document1-1 Filed02/13/15 Page4 of 5 C.  Copyright And Trademark Disputes Please see our Infringement Policy for information about copyright and trademark disputes. D.  Events Please see our Event Terms and Conditions for information about events listed on or linked to on the Site. You represent that you have read and understood them. 8.  YELP DEALS AND YELP ADVERTISING If you purchase a Yelp Deal or Gift Certificate, the terms of your purchase will be governed by the Yelp General Terms for Deals and Certificates. Please review them before you make each purchase since they may change from time to time. In the event of any conflict between the Yelp General Terms for Deals and Certificates and these Terms, the Yelp General Terms for Deals and Certificates will prevail. Similarly, if you create a business owner's account on the Site or purchase advertising from Yelp, the Yelp Advertising Agreement will apply. In the event of any conflict between the Yelp Advertising Agreement and these Terms, the Yelp Advertising Agreement will prevail. 9.  SUGGESTIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS By sending us any ideas, suggestions, documents or proposals ("Feedback"), you agree that (i) your Feedback does not contain the confidential or proprietary information of third parties, (ii) we are under no obligation of confidentiality, express or implied, with respect to the Feedback, (iii) we may have something similar to the Feedback already under consideration or in development, and (iv) you grant us an irrevocable, non­exclusive, royalty­free, perpetual, worldwide license to use, modify, prepare derivative works, publish, distribute and sublicense the Feedback, and you irrevocably waive, and cause to be waived, against Yelp and its users any claims and assertions of any moral rights contained in such Feedback. 10.  THIRD PARTIES The Site may include links to other websites or applications (each, a "Third Party Site"). We do not control or endorse any Third Party Site. You agree that we are not responsible for the availability or contents of such Third Party Sites. Your use of Third Party Sites is at your own risk. Some of the services made available through the Site may be subject to additional third party or open source licensing terms and disclosures, including the ones posted here and incorporated herein by reference. 11.  INDEMNITY You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold Yelp, its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, any related companies, suppliers, licensors and partners, and the officers, directors, employees, agents and representatives of each of them (collectively, the "Yelp Entities") harmless, including costs, liabilities and legal fees, from any claim or demand made by any third party arising out of or relating to (i) your access to or use of the Site, (ii) your violation of the Terms, (iii) any products or services purchased or obtained by you in connection with the Site, or (iv) the infringement by you, or any third party using your account, of any intellectual property or other right of any person or entity. Yelp reserves the right, at your expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter for which you are required to indemnify us and you agree to cooperate with our defense of these claims. You agree not to settle any such matter without the prior written consent of Yelp. Yelp will use reasonable efforts to notify you of any such claim, action or proceeding upon becoming aware of it. 12.  DISCLAIMERS AND LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY SINCE IT LIMITS THE LIABILITY OF THE YELP ENTITIES TO YOU. EACH OF THE SUBSECTIONS BELOW ONLY APPLIES UP TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW. NOTHING HEREIN IS INTENDED TO LIMIT ANY RIGHTS YOU MAY HAVE WHICH MAY NOT BE LAWFULLY LIMITED. IF YOU ARE UNSURE ABOUT THIS OR ANY OTHER SECTION OF THESE TERMS, PLEASE CONSULT WITH A LEGAL PROFESSIONAL PRIOR TO ACCESSING OR USING THE SITE. BY ACCESSING OR USING THE SITE, YOU REPRESENT THAT YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTOOD, AND AGREE TO THESE TERMS, INCLUDING THIS SECTION. YOU ARE GIVING UP SUBSTANTIAL LEGAL RIGHTS BY AGREEING TO THESE TERMS. A.  THE SITE IS MADE AVAILABLE TO YOU ON AN "AS IS", "WITH ALL FAULTS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS, WITH THE EXPRESS UNDERSTANDING THAT THE YELP ENTITIES MAY NOT MONITOR, CONTROL, OR VET USER CONTENT. AS SUCH, YOUR USE OF THE SITE IS AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK. THE YELP ENTITIES MAKE NO CLAIMS OR PROMISES ABOUT THE QUALITY, ACCURACY, OR RELIABILITY OF THE SITE, ITS SAFETY OR SECURITY, OR THE SITE CONTENT. ACCORDINGLY, THE YELP ENTITIES ARE NOT LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE THAT MIGHT ARISE, FOR EXAMPLE, FROM THE SITE'S INOPERABILITY, UNAVAILABILITY OR SECURITY VULNERABILITIES OR FROM YOUR RELIANCE ON THE QUALITY, ACCURACY, OR RELIABILITY OF THE BUSINESS LISTINGS, RATINGS, REVIEWS (INCLUDING THEIR CONTENT, ORDER, AND DISPLAY), OR METRICS FOUND ON, USED ON, OR MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SITE. B.  THE YELP ENTITIES MAKE NO CLAIMS OR PROMISES WITH RESPECT TO ANY THIRD PARTY, SUCH AS THE BUSINESSES OR ADVERTISERS LISTED ON THE SITE OR THE SITE'S USERS. ACCORDINGLY, THE YELP ENTITIES ARE NOT LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE THAT MIGHT ARISE FROM THEIR ACTIONS OR OMISSIONS, INCLUDING, FOR EXAMPLE, IF ANOTHER USER OR BUSINESS MISUSES YOUR CONTENT, IDENTITY OR PERSONAL INFORMATION, OR IF YOU HAVE A NEGATIVE EXPERIENCE WITH ONE OF THE BUSINESSES OR ADVERTISERS LISTED OR FEATURED ON THE SITE. YOUR PURCHASE AND USE OF PRODUCTS OR SERVICES OFFERED BY THIRD PARTIES THROUGH THE SITE IS AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK. C.  THE YELP ENTITIES EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES AS TO THE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES OFFERED BY BUSINESSES LISTED ON THE SITE, AND IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON­INFRINGEMENT. NO ORAL OR WRITTEN INFORMATION OR ADVICE PROVIDED TO YOU BY A REPRESENTATIVE OF ONE OF THE YELP ENTITIES SHALL CREATE A REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY. D.  YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE RIGHT AND REMEDY IN CASE OF DISSATISFACTION WITH THE SITE, RELATED SERVICES, OR ANY OTHER GRIEVANCE SHALL BE YOUR TERMINATION AND DISCONTINUATION OF ACCESS TO, OR USE OF THE SITE. E.  THE YELP ENTITIES' MAXIMUM AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR LOSSES OR DAMAGES THAT YOU SUFFER IN CONNECTION WITH THE SITE OR THESE TERMS IS LIMITED TO THE GREATER OF (i) THE AMOUNT PAID, IF ANY, BY YOU TO THE YELP ENTITIES IN CONNECTION WITH THE SITE IN THE 12 MONTHS PRIOR TO THE ACTION GIVING RISE TO LIABILITY, OR (ii) $100. F.  THE YELP ENTITIES DISCLAIM LIABILITY FOR ANY (i) INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY, RELIANCE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, (ii) LOSS OF PROFITS, (iii) BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, (iv) REPUTATIONAL HARM, OR (v) LOSS OF INFORMATION OR DATA. 13.  CHOICE OF LAW AND VENUE California law will govern these Terms, as well as any claim, cause of action or dispute that might arise between you and Yelp (a "Claim"), without regard to conflict of law provisions. FOR ANY CLAIM BROUGHT BY EITHER PARTY, YOU AGREE TO SUBMIT AND CONSENT TO THE PERSONAL AND EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION IN, AND THE EXCLUSIVE VENUE OF, THE STATE AND FEDERAL COURTS LOCATED WITHIN SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 14.  TERMINATION A.  You may terminate the Terms at any time by closing your account, discontinuing your use of the Site, and providing Yelp with a notice of termination here. Please review our Privacy Policy for information about what we do with your account when terminated. B.  We may close your account, suspend your ability to use certain portions of the Site, and/or ban you altogether from the Site for any or no reason, and without notice or liability of any kind. Any such action could prevent you from accessing your account, the Site, Your Content, Site Content, or any other related information. C.  In the event of any termination of these Terms, whether by you or us, Sections 1, 5, 6, 10 ­ 14 will continue in full force and effect, including our right to use Your Content as detailed in Section 5. 15.  GENERAL TERMS A.  We reserve the right to modify, update, or discontinue the Site at our sole discretion, at any time, for any or no reason, and without notice or liability. B.  We may provide you with notices, including those regarding changes to the Terms by email, regular mail or communications through the Site. http://www.yelp.com/static?p=tos&country=US 3/4 Terms of Service   Yelp Case3:15-cv-00693 Document1-1 Filed02/13/15 Page5 of 5 C.  Except as otherwise stated in Section 10 above, nothing herein is intended, nor will be deemed, to confer rights or remedies upon any third party. D.  The Terms contain the entire agreement between you and us regarding the use of the Site, and supersede any prior agreement between you and us on such subject matter. The parties acknowledge that no reliance is placed on any representation made but not expressly contained in these Terms. E.  Any failure on Yelp's part to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the Terms does not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. The failure of either party to exercise in any respect any right provided for herein shall not be deemed a waiver of any further rights hereunder. F.  If any provision of the Terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid, then only that provision shall be modified to reflect the parties' intention or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that the Terms shall otherwise remain in full force and effect and enforceable. G.  The Terms, and any rights or obligations hereunder, are not assignable, transferable or sublicensable by you except with Yelp's prior written consent, but may be assigned or transferred by us without restriction. Any attempted assignment by you shall violate these Terms and be void. H.  The section titles in the Terms are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect. Copyright © 2015 Yelp Inc., 140 New Montgomery, San Francisco, CA 94105, U.S.A. About Discover Yelp for Business Owners About Yelp The Weekly Yelp Claim your Business Page Careers Yelp Blog Advertise on Yelp Press Support Yelp SeatMe Investor Relations Yelp Mobile Business Success Stories Content Guidelines Developers Business Support Terms of Service RSS Yelp Blog for Business Owners Languages English Countries United States Privacy Policy Ad Privacy Info Site Map   Atlanta Austin Boston Chicago Dallas Denver Detroit Honolulu Houston Los Angeles Miami Minneapolis New York Philadelphia                           Portland Sacramento San Diego San Francisco San Jose Seattle Washington, DC More Cities       Copyright © 2004–2015 Yelp Inc. Yelp,  http://www.yelp.com/static?p=tos&country=US   ,         and related marks are registered trademarks of Yelp. 4/4 Documentl-Z Filed02/13/15 Pagel of3 EXHIBIT 2 Content Guidelines   Yelp Case3:15-cv-00693 Document1-2 Filed02/13/15 Page2 of 3 Find tacos, cheap dinner, Max’s   Near address, neighborhood, city, state or zip Log In Home   About Me   Write a Review   Find Friends   Messages   Talk   Events Content Guidelines About Us   Management   Advertiser FAQ   Careers   Press   Investor Relations   Content Guidelines   Support General Guidelines Yelp allows users to contribute different kinds of content, including reviews, photos, videos, events, votes, tips, private messages, and more. Playing nice isn’t rocket science, but just in case, we’ve put together these general guidelines. Please also read the guidelines below for specific types of content that you might contribute to the site. • Inappropriate content: Colorful language and imagery is fine, but there's no need for threats, harassment, lewdness, hate speech, and other displays of bigotry. • Conflicts of interest: Your contributions should be unbiased and objective. For example, you shouldn’t write reviews of your own business or employer, your friends’ or relatives’ business, your peers or competitors in your industry, or businesses in your networking group. Business owners should not ask customers to write reviews. • Promotional content: Unless you're using your Business Owners Account to add content to your business's profile page, we generally frown upon promotional content. Let's keep the site useful for consumers and not overrun with commercial noise from every user. • Relevance: Please make sure your contributions are relevant and appropriate to the forum. For example, reviews aren't the place for rants about a business's employment practices, political ideologies, extraordinary circumstances, or other matters that don't address the core of the consumer experience. • Privacy: Don’t publicize other people’s private information. Please don’t post close­up photos or videos of other patrons without their permission, and please don’t post other people’s full names unless you’re referring to service providers who are commonly identified by or commonly share their own full names. • Intellectual property: Don’t swipe content from other sites or users. You’re a smart cookie, so write your own reviews and take your own photos and videos, please! Additional Guidelines  Collapse All Review Guidelines The best reviews are passionate and personal. They offer a rich narrative, a wealth of detail, and a helpful tip or two for other consumers. Here are some additional thoughts for conscientious reviewers. • Personal experience: We want to hear about your firsthand consumer experience, not what you heard from your co­worker or significant other. Try to tell your own story without resorting to broad generalizations and conclusory allegations. • Accuracy: Make sure your review is factually correct. Feel free to air your opinions, but don't exaggerate or misrepresent your experience. We don't take sides when it comes to factual disputes, so we expect you to stand behind your review. • Review updates: Review updates should reflect a new experience or interaction with the business. Don't tell the same old story you've already told. If you'd like to add new insight to an old experience, just edit your review instead of creating a new update. Photo and Video Guidelines Business photos and videos should be broadly relevant to the business and reflect the typical consumer experience (e.g., what the business looks like, what the business offers, etc.). If you post a photo or video that showcases a more unique personal experience with a business (e.g., your smiling group of friends at the bar, the fly in your soup), we may remove it from the photo gallery for the business, but it still may appear alongside your review if you write one about the business. User Profile Guidelines Don't be shy — use your account profile to let people know who you are and what makes you tick. Users want to read reviews from people they know and trust (not those with profiles that are empty or laced with inappropriate content). Talk Guidelines Talk is a place for fun, open, and honest conversations about what's going on in your community. While it's easy to engage and post on Talk, take care with what you post since you can't subsequently delete it. A dash of common sense goes a long way. And since user trust and transparency are important to us, anonymous users who are disruptive to the community will probably be dealt with more sternly than those who stand behind their words. Messaging Guidelines Yelp has a handy messaging feature to keep you connected with your fellow yelpers. First off, please don't use this feature to harass other users or send other inappropriate content. Second, user accounts are for personal, non­commercial use only. Business owners should message reviewers using their free Business Owners Account. In order to do so, we ask that they upload a clear photo of themselves to help personalize their message. Event Guidelines Heard about a great event in the neighborhood? Great! Post it to the Events tab on Yelp. Please don't use Events to post your recurring promotional announcements and sales. We also like to keep the content fresh, so please don't post events more than 6 months in advance. Business Owner Guidelines Business owners should be getting in on the act, too. Some words of wisdom: • About Your Business: You can use the "About This Business" tab to tell people a little something special about your business. Please keep it relevant: don't use this feature to attack your competitors, reviewers, or Yelp, and don't use it to seed keywords or post special offers or promotions — we'll remove them if we see them. • Public Comments: Private messaging is often the best way to resolve a dispute with an unhappy customer, but business owners can also address issues publicly by posting a public comment. As with private messaging, we ask that business owners upload a clear photo of themselves to help personalize their message. Don't use public comments to launch personal attacks, advertise, or offer an incentive to change a review. • Video: Videos are a great way for advertisers to promote themselves on Yelp. Be as creative as you can, but please keep it clean. We're not big fans of imagery showing violence, drug use, nudity, near nudity, or suggestive acts. Also, please don't use your video to disparage other businesses, users or Yelp; request or solicit reviews from users; or respond to user reviews. • Don't ask customers for reviews: Don't ask your customers to review your business on Yelp. Over time, solicited reviews create bias in your business listing — a bias that http://www.yelp.com/guidelines 1/2 Content Guidelines   Yelp Case3:15-cv-00693 Document1-2 Filed02/13/15 Page3 of 3 savvy consumers can smell from a mile away. Learn why you shouldn't ask for reviews. About Discover Yelp for Business Owners About Yelp The Weekly Yelp Claim your Business Page Careers Yelp Blog Advertise on Yelp Press Support Yelp SeatMe Investor Relations Yelp Mobile Business Success Stories Content Guidelines Developers Business Support Terms of Service RSS Yelp Blog for Business Owners Languages English Countries United States Privacy Policy Ad Privacy Info Site Map   Atlanta Austin Boston Chicago Dallas Denver Detroit Honolulu Houston Los Angeles Miami Minneapolis New York Philadelphia                           Portland Sacramento San Diego San Francisco San Jose Seattle Washington, DC More Cities       Copyright © 2004–2015 Yelp Inc. Yelp,  http://www.yelp.com/guidelines   ,         and related marks are registered trademarks of Yelp. 2/2