Jari Ketola
27 Apr 2002 12:50
The Computer & Communications Industry Association wants the California Supreme Court to overturn a ruling by which an Indiana resident could be tried in California, even though the only contact the resident has had with California has been via the Internet. Matthew Pavlovich was sued by the DVD Copy Control Association for distributing the DeCSS code. According to DVD CCA the postings of Matheww Pavlovich, and dozens of other people also sued, violated the California's trade secret law.
"If allowed to stand, this decision would create universal jurisdiction in California for any person or company that publishes a Web site on the Internet," CCIA Chief Executive Ed Black said in a statement. CCIA has filed a brief supporting Pavlovich's cause. Pavlovich himself has also appealed earlier, arguing a violation of the due process clause of the U.S. Constitution.
The world-wide nature of the Internet has put the current legislation into quite a test. We'll see what happens.