Brayton Purcell v. Recordon: Expanding Jurisdiction over Website Operators in Copyright Infringement Cases

The Ninth Circuit essentially held that a website operator accused of copyright infringement can be hailed into court in the copyright owner’s home venue if the infringer knew that the copyright owner resided there when he infringed. In Brayton Purcell LLP v. Recordon & Recordon, ___ F.3d ____, 2009 WL 2383035, No. 07-15383 (9th Cir., Aug. 5, 2009), the 9th Circuit held that venue was proper in the Northern District of California in a case brought by a Northern California law firm against a Southern California law firm for infringement of the Northern California firm’s website. Even though the Southern California firm only sought prospective clients in the San Diego area and did not do business in Northern California, the Court found the northern venue proper because the southern firm “targeted” the northern firm by specifically using its website content. The decision, if it holds up and is adopted by other courts, could have a dramatic impact on copyright litigation.

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Olivier A. Taillieu

Jeffrey J. Zuber

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