Discovery In Website-Based Suit Required To Determine Personal Jurisdiction

Richard Raysman is a Partner in our New York office

Incorporating ergonomics into the workplace, a term/ethos which broadly refers to the principles of "fitting a job to a person," is all the rage these days. Companies large and small, as well as some of their enterprising employees, are extolling the virtues of standing desks and enhanced lumbar support for those millions who spend at least 8 hours a day, 5 days a week fastened to a chair in their cubicle. Designs of ergonomic devices are considered intellectual property by the variety of businesses that provide services related to the optimization of such devices. Such designs, which encompass guides, layouts, images and manuals, recently became the subject of an intellectual property dispute in federal court in Michigan between two companies in the field. Humantech, Inc., v. Ergonomics Plus, Inc., No. 14-CV-12141, 2015 WL 1492224 (E.D. Mich. Mar. 31, 2015). However, the opinion issued discussed herein did not focus on the substantive arguments of the plaintiff, but rather on whether the case could be heard in a Michigan court against an Indiana company without offending Constitutional due process limits on personal jurisdiction.

Facts

Humantech, Inc. (Humantech) is a Michigan corporation that specializes in ergonomic "engineering, training, and consulting." Humantech owns significant intellectual property, including copyrights for guides, manuals, images, and surveys in the field of "ergonomic risk assessment and workplace improvement." Such materials are made available on Humantech's website. Likewise, Ergonomics Plus, Inc. (EP), an Indiana corporation, provides ergonomic consulting services.

This dispute arose when Humantech discovered that EP had posted blogs on its own website that included a "lifting guidelines calculator that was very similar in layout and appearance to" a similar calculator on Humantech's website. In a bit of technical savvy, Humantech averred in its complaint that the calculator posted on EP's website contained metadata identifying one of its employees that had aided in the creation of Humantech's calculator. Humantech also noted that in 2010, EP purchased one of its manuals that included a CD containing the calculator.

After negotiations to resolve the dispute failed, Humantech sued on grounds of copyright infringement, violations of the DMCA, and state trade secrets laws. EP filed a motion to dismiss under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(2) on the grounds that a court...