Pryor Cashman Partner Dyan Finguerra-DuCharme, who is Co-Chair of the firm's Trademark Group, and Associate Nicholas Saady wrote an article for Law360 discussing the issues raised by a recent ruling in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
In "A Cautionary Tale On Social Media And US Jurisdiction," Dyan and Nick analyze Miles Park McCollum v. Opulous, a dispute between musician Lil Yachty and online music distribution company Ditto Music, which "is an important decision for all foreign companies, individuals, their respective advisers, and those seeking to sue them before the U.S. courts because the majority of the court's analysis was based on the defendants' social media activities."
The article examines the decision's holdings regarding social media's impact on personal jurisdiction:
The court therefore provides a clear warning to international defendants that their social media activities may be highly relevant to, and potentially determinative of, an aggregate personal jurisdiction analysis under Rule 4(k)(2).
Implicit in the court's decision is the idea that social media provides businesses and individuals with a social marketplace where they can best interact with consumers, advertise their goods and services, and ultimately sell those goods and services to consumers.
While such an idea comports with the reality of modern social media use, it is worrying for many international businesses and individuals because the main purpose of most businesses' social media use is to interact with, and sell products to, consumers — especially U.S. consumers, as they comprise an exceedingly lucrative market.
According to the Opulous decision, that usage of social media is likely to bring those businesses before U.S. courts. ...
Opulous provides foreign defendants with a stark warning to be extremely cautious about, and closely monitor, their social media activity.
Read the full article using the link below.
A-Cautionary-Tale-On-Social-Media-And-US-Jurisdiction.pdf (gjassets.com)
(Originally published in Law360)
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