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Cassandra P. Joseph, Esq.Nevada State Bar No. 9845WATSON ROUNDS5371 Kietzke LaneReno, NV 89511Telephone: (775) 324-4100Facsimile: (775) 333-8171cjoseph@watsonrounds.comJohn L. Krieger, Esq.Nevada State Bar No. 6023LEWIS AND ROCA LLP3993 Howard Hughes Pkwy. Suite 600Las Vegas, Nevada 89169Telephone: (702) 949-8304Facsimile: (702) 949-8365JKrieger@LRLaw.comMarc Randazza, Esq. (
Pro Hac Vice
Application to be submitted within 7 days)Randazza Legal Group2 South Biscayne Boulevard, Suite 2600Miami, Florida 33131Telephone: (305) 479-2491mjrp@me.comAttorneys for Defendant NationalOrganization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTDISTRICT OF NEVADA
RIGHTHAVEN LLC, a Nevada limited )liability company, ))
Plaintiff, ))v. ))NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR THE )REFORM OF MARIJUANA LAWS, a )District of Columbia domestic nonprofit )Corporation; MEDIA ACCESS PROJECT, )INC., a California corporation, ))Defendants. ))Case No. 2:10-cv-00351-LDG-PAL
DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISSFOR LACK OF SUBJECT MATTERJURISDICTION AND LACK OFPERSONAL JURISDICTION
Case 2:10-cv-00351-LDG-PAL Document 12 Filed 04/23/10 Page 1 of 20
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Pursuant to Local Rule of Civil Practice 7-2, Defendant National Organization for theReform of Marijuana Laws (“NORML”), by and through undersigned counsel, hereby movesthis Court to Dismiss Plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint for Lack of Subject MatterJurisdiction and Lack of Personal Jurisdiction. NORML submits this Memorandum of Pointsand Authorities in support of its Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction andLack of Personal Jurisdiction.
MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES
Plaintiff Righthaven LLC alleges that NORML has infringed its copyrights in severalnews articles. NORML respectfully submits, however, that (1) this Court lacks jurisdictionover the subject matter of this case because Righthaven LLC is without standing to prosecutethe alleged infringement and (2) this Court lacks jurisdiction over NORML becauseNORML’s limited contacts with the state of Nevada do not satisfy the demands of federal dueprocess, and even if they did, the exercise of jurisdiction over NORML would beunreasonable.
I. STATEMENT OF UNDISPUTED FACTS
Plaintiff Righthaven LLC (“Righthaven”) claims to be the owner, by assignment, of thecopyright in the news article “Marijuana as Medicine,” published on August 30, 2009, as wellas in several other literary works.
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Defendant National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (“NORML”) is the owner of the websites <www.norml.org> and<www.norml.com>. Righthaven alleges that NORML has infringed its copyrights in“Marijuana as Medicine” by making the article accessible to the public through links providedon <www.norml.com>.
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Righthaven also claims to be the owner of the copyrights in the news articles “Dr. Reefer’s business goes topot,” published on March 30, 2009, and “Marijuana activists take stand against bill,” published on March 31,2009. It has not submitted any proof of ownership, however. On the contrary, the evidence submitted byRighthaven suggests that the newspaper in which these articles were first published, the
Las Vegas Review- Journal
, owns the copyrights in these articles. (Plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint (“Pl.’s Compl.”), Ex. 1, 2.).There is no proof of assignment in the record. Furthermore, while a search of the Copyright Office Catalog, apublic database of works registered or pre-registered since 1978, on April 22, 2010, revealed that Righthaven hadregistered “Marijuana as Medicine,” no such registration was found for “Dr. Reefer’s business goes to pot” or“Marijuana activists take stand against bill.” Decl. of John L. Krieger, ¶ 3 and 4.
Case 2:10-cv-00351-LDG-PAL Document 12 Filed 04/23/10 Page 2 of 20
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A.
The Parties
Righthaven, a Nevada limited-liability company that was incorporated on January 14,2010, has its principal place of business in Nevada. It appears that Righthaven entered into acontract with Stephens Media LLC (“Stephens Media”), the company that owns the newspaper
Las Vegas Review-Journal
(“LVRJ”), wherein Stephens Media assigned to Righthaven someor all of its exclusive rights in “Marijuana as Medicine.”
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NORML is a nonprofit organization incorporated in the District of Columbia; itsprincipal place of business is in Washington, DC. NORML has no physical presence inNevada. It has no office and no employees in this state, nor is there an independently runchapter of the organization here.
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NORML’s only contact with Nevada is through its website,which provides information about marijuana laws throughout the U.S. to residents of all fiftystates and all U.S. territories. In 2009, donations from Nevada accounted for only .01% of thetotal donations NORML received last year. In the first quarter of 2010, Nevada visitorsaccounted for only .07% of all “hits” at <norml.com>. Decl. of Allen St. Pierre, ¶ 8 and 9.Defendant Media Awareness Project (“MAP”) is a worldwide network dedicated todrug policy reform. MAP is the largest project of the nonprofit organization DrugSense.DrugSense is incorporated under the laws of California and has its principal place of businessin California.
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The Alleged Copyright Infringement
NORML is the owner and registrant of the Internet domain names <norml.org> and<norml.com>. Approximately a decade ago, a representative of MAP, approached Allen F.St. Pierre, Executive Director of NORML, and offered to provide a daily news service forNORML's website. Decl. of Allen St. Pierre, ¶ 10. NORML eventually entered into anagreement with DrugSense, the California nonprofit organization that runs MAP, whereinDrugSense agreed to provide a news feed service for NORML's website <www.norml.com>.
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Righthaven has not provided the Court or NORML with a copy of the assignment agreement, despite aninformal request from counsel for NORML.
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However, NORML has chapters in 37 states. Decl. of Allen St. Pierre, ¶ 4.
Case 2:10-cv-00351-LDG-PAL Document 12 Filed 04/23/10 Page 3 of 20
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Defendant National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws Motion to Dismiss (Filed April 23, 2010)
Motion to Dismiss filed in Righthaven, LLC v. National Organization For The Reform of Marijuana Laws and Media Awareness Project, Inc., Case No. 10-cv-00351 (D. Nev.)
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