The World in U.S. Courts: Winter 2018 - Personal Jurisdiction/Forum Non Conveniens
December.18.2017
This patent infringement action, apparently related to the Koninklijke KPN N.V. case discussed below, considered among other issues whether specific personal jurisdiction could be asserted over HTC, a Taiwanese corporation. The District Court in Delaware stated that jurisdiction could be shown under what it termed the “dual jurisdiction” or “stream of commerce” theory, which requires that a plaintiff show (i) that the defendant intended to serve the Delaware market specifically; (ii) that this intent resulted in the introduction of the product into the market; and (iii) that the plaintiff’s cause of action arises from injuries caused by that product. The Court focused on the first prong of this test, and found that it was satisfied by statements in HTC’s annual report that it “released particular smartphones in partnership with US carrier Verizon,” a company incorporated in Delaware. The Court also considered that HTC’s products were sold in Delaware through a number of outlets. No other relevant facts were cited.
[Editor’s note: The 3G Licensing case is also discussed in the Intellectual Property-Patents section of this report, as certain courts apply special personal jurisdiction standards in patent infringement cases.]