UK - Lucasfilm v Ainsworth / Appeal

Lucasfilm Limited c.s. v. Andrew Ainsworth c.s., High Court of Justice, Court of Appeal (Civil Division), UK, 16 December 2009, Docket No. Case No: A3/2008/2878/2893/2897

Copyrights case with interesting reasonings on justicialibility ('subject-matter' jurisdiction), also applicable to patents.

The Court of Appeal is: 'not impressed by the supposed difference in principle between questions of subsistence or registration of the right and its infringement.'

Questioning the scope of a monopoly granted by a sovereign state in a foreign court carries with it the foreign court ruling on the scope of a sovereign act, which is not different in kind from ruling on its validity. The distinction drawn in principle by the Regulation is drawn in the context of a fully balanced scheme and where a policy decision had to be made. Could the courts of one Member State revoke a patent registered in another Member State? That was seen as going too far and so was not allowed at that stage of the development of a European cross-border jurisdiction.

The Court of Appeal accordingly concludes that the supposed international jurisdiction over copyright infringement claims does not exist.  

Read the judgment (in English) here.

Comments

[Leo Steenbeek]

It is important to note that the court refused to hear a case involving an IP right (copyright) from a country (US) that is neither an EU Member State nor bound by the Lugano Convention. The court did not believe that Article 2 of Regulation 44/2001 forced it to accept subject-matter jurisdiction for such a case merely because the defendant is located within its territory.
The court's decision does not apply to IP rights from EU / Lugano states.