This is an absolutely wonderful summary of jurisdictional issues facing courts in the United States. I really wish you had taught my civil procedure course!
What's interesting about the original question, which pertains to standing in French courts, is that there's an on-point case involving the inverse of that. Yahoo! Inc. v. La Ligue Contre le Racisme et l'Antisemitisme (LICRA) establishes the competence of French courts to hear internet cases. Of particular interest is that Sony, which presumably has offices in France, could use the US Marshals to serve the defendant in the United States, pursuant to the Hague Service Convention. I imagine that any potential benefit Sony would get from doing this would be outweighed by the costs of litigation, and the risk of having the judgment unenforceable in the United States, though.
Comments
This is an absolutely wonderful summary of jurisdictional issues facing courts in the United States. I really wish you had taught my civil procedure course!
What's interesting about the original question, which pertains to standing in French courts, is that there's an on-point case involving the inverse of that. Yahoo! Inc. v. La Ligue Contre le Racisme et l'Antisemitisme (LICRA) establishes the competence of French courts to hear internet cases. Of particular interest is that Sony, which presumably has offices in France, could use the US Marshals to serve the defendant in the United States, pursuant to the Hague Service Convention. I imagine that any potential benefit Sony would get from doing this would be outweighed by the costs of litigation, and the risk of having the judgment unenforceable in the United States, though.