1. Lawsuits Sans Frontiers Personal Jurisdiction Meets the World Wide Web Personal Jurisdiction Meets the World Wide Web Steven L. Baron April 22, 2003

2. Important Definitions Jurisdiction = Jurisdiction = Particular court or court system; andParticular court or court system; and Power of a court to hail a party into court and render a decision that is binding on that partyPower of a court to hail a party into court and render a decision that is binding on that party

3. Important Definitions Venue = Venue = Location of a particular courtLocation of a particular court Service of Process = Service of Process = The delivery of legal papers that initiates a law suit or legal proceedingThe delivery of legal papers that initiates a law suit or legal proceeding Choice of Law = Choice of Law = The legal process of deciding which jurisdiction’s law appliesThe legal process of deciding which jurisdiction’s law applies

4. Who Cares About Jurisdiction? Courts Courts Lawyers Lawyers Parties Parties

5. Why care about jurisdiction? Impacts where you can be sued. Impacts where you can be sued. Impacts law that applies to your suit. Impacts law that applies to your suit. Impacts who decides the outcome. Impacts who decides the outcome. Impacts the nature of the outcome. Impacts the nature of the outcome. Impacts the costs of suit. Impacts the costs of suit. Impacts how you may decide to act in the future. Impacts how you may decide to act in the future.

6. Dow Jones v. Gutnick Plaintiff/Respondent = Gutnick Plaintiff/Respondent = Gutnick Defendant/Appellant = Dow Jones Defendant/Appellant = Dow Jones

10. Dow Jones v. Gutnick Gutnick lives in Victoria, Australia Gutnick lives in Victoria, Australia Dow Jones = Dow Jones = Delaware CompanyDelaware Company Offices in New York CityOffices in New York City Web Servers located in New JerseyWeb Servers located in New Jersey

11. Dow Jones v. Gutnick Dow Jones publishes article in Barron’s On-Line Dow Jones publishes article in Barron’s On-Line Gutnick claims he was defamed in Australia Gutnick claims he was defamed in Australia Gutnick sues Dow Jones in Australia Gutnick sues Dow Jones in Australia

12. Dow Jones v. Gutnick Trial court finds that Victoria “was not a clearly inappropriate forum” (i.e. Gutnick could maintain his suit in Australia). Trial court finds that Victoria “was not a clearly inappropriate forum” (i.e. Gutnick could maintain his suit in Australia). Court of Appeal refuses appeal. Court of Appeal refuses appeal. Dow Jones appeals to High Court of Australia Dow Jones appeals to High Court of Australia

13. Dow Jones v. Gutnick High Court of Australia dismisses appeal High Court of Australia dismisses appeal Defamation law seeks a balanceDefamation law seeks a balance Free Speech v. Preservation of Reputation Free Speech v. Preservation of Reputation Publication is “bilateral” in naturePublication is “bilateral” in nature Where the publisher acts Where the publisher acts Where the publication is presented Where the publication is presented Single Publication RuleSingle Publication Rule

14. Dow Jones v. Gutnick “[T]hose who post information on the World Wide Web do so knowing that the information they make available is available to all and sundry without any geographic restriction.” “[T]hose who post information on the World Wide Web do so knowing that the information they make available is available to all and sundry without any geographic restriction.” Place where information is downloaded is where harm to reputation occurs. Place where information is downloaded is where harm to reputation occurs.

15. Dow Jones v. Gutnick Impact of Case: Impact of Case: Opens up specter of suit anywhere that Internet publication is availableOpens up specter of suit anywhere that Internet publication is available Imposes upon web publishers the need to know the law in foreign jurisdictionsImposes upon web publishers the need to know the law in foreign jurisdictions Collecting judgment may still be difficult against a foreign interest without assets in the countryCollecting judgment may still be difficult against a foreign interest without assets in the country