U.S. Subject Matter Jurisdiction for Copyright Infringements on the Internet

Authors

• Christian M. Reider

Abstract

Copyright infringement is currently the most important substantive legal issue in online communication. Many copyright owners, a handful of authors, and an increasing number of courts realize that the Internet, more than any other medium, will challenge the enforcement of copyright infringement in the international context. The threshold issue in copyright enforcement is the question of subject matter jurisdiction over the Internet, a digital world without significant national boundaries.

Determining subject matter jurisdiction has great economic and legal impact on the parties. The exposure of any individual Internet user or any local company to foreign as well as multiple jurisdictions could lead to expensive lawsuits and could make a plausible defense almost impossible. Indeed, to file a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction in a foreign court requires tremendous effort. Moreover, a common, international copyright law does not exist. Rather, each country has different copyright laws. Hence, the activities that are permitted in one country may violate the copyright laws in another country. For example, the German copyright law has a statutory exemption that permits private non-commercial reproductions of a copyrighted work. Because each court tends to apply its own substantive law, the jurisdictional determination has a central impact on a copyright infringement action.

This article analyzes the jurisdiction of U.S. courts for non-contractual copyright infringements taking place on the Internet. Specifically, part II of this article will address whether the activities of a foreign online user, content provider, or Internet service provider fall within the subject matter jurisdiction of U.S. courts.

Part III examines federal court decisions that have confronted the requirements of subject matter jurisdiction for domestic courts in copyright infringement activities abroad. This article contends that a direct copyright infringement within the U.S. is a prerequisite for a domestic court to have subject matter jurisdiction. Part IV analyzes whether certain data transmissions over the Internet will result in direct copyright infringements. Finally, Part V concludes that a broad application of subject matter jurisdiction will be detrimental to the protection of copyrighted works on the Internet.

Recommended Citation

Christian M. Reider, U.S. Subject Matter Jurisdiction for Copyright Infringements on the Internet, 2 Computer L. Rev. & Tech. J. 23 (1998)