Peter Pinckney v. KDG Mediatech AG
European Union Court of Justice
Case C-170/12 (2012)
- Written by Eric Miller, JD
Facts
Peter Pinckney (plaintiff), a resident of France, was the composer and performer of 12 songs that were released on a vinyl record by the group Aubrey Small in 1971. The songs were reproduced on CD by KDG Mediatech AG (Mediatech) (defendant), a company based in Austria. The CDs were then marketed online by two companies based in the United Kingdom. Pinckney brought suit against Mediatech in the French court system, arguing that the unauthorized online sale of the CDs constituted infringement. Mediatech objected on jurisdictional grounds. The trial court held that the accessibility of the relevant website by members of the public in France was sufficient to confer jurisdiction in the French courts. Mediatech appealed. The appeals court held that there was no jurisdiction in France because the defendant was domiciled in Austria. Pinckney appealed to the highest court in France, which referred the matter to the European Union Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)
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