Melania Loses Defamation Lawsuit on Jurisdiction Grounds–Trump v. Tarpley – Technology & Marketing Law Blog: "These arguments fail. The court cites the general proposition: “The overwhelming weight of authority holds that merely operating a website — even if it is a popular website that makes money from advertising… — does not constitute ‘purposeful availment.'”
The court then applies it to this case: “MMI does not intentionally enter the Maryland market specifically, but rather the United States market as a whole….there was no evidence that the website specifically targeted residents of the forum state more than, or in a different way than, any other state.”
The geotargeted ads don’t matter because Melania “failed to establish that MMI has targeted Maryland specifically with its advertisements.” MMI didn’t sell any ads directly to Maryland residents, and the geotargeted ads apparently were sold and served by a third party ad network.
The news stories about Maryland don’t matter because 2/3 were AP wire stories that were automatically reposted on MailOnline; and the site otherwise has a national/international focus and not a “specific focus” on Maryland (distinguishing Mavrix and Hare v. Ritchie).
In the case of the MailOnline article in question, it was initially uploaded in London and then uploaded to the US site by New York staff. No reporters traveled to Maryland, and MMI doesn’t have an office in Maryland, Melania doesn’t live in Maryland, and no witnesses are located in Maryland.
As a result, the case can proceed in Maryland against Tarpley, but MMI is dismissed." 'via Blog this'
No comments:
Post a Comment