- The new age of technology presents many opportunities for litigation. The Internet is no exception. When
operating Internet websites, an important part of it is owning the domain name (www.example.com). Anyone in
the world can own any domain name that is available and the facts of this case arise from this concept. The
plaintiff, in this case, Weather Underground Corporation (Weather Underground), a Michigan corporation, is a
commercial weather service. It owns and operates several domain names so that people can access their
company through their websites. Defendants in this case, Navigation Catalyst Systems, Incorporated (“NCS”),
a Delaware corporation owns many domain names that are similar to the plaintiff’s company name (some
would result from people misspelling the correct domain name for Weather Underground). NCS profits from
consumers going to one of these websites and clicking on links that are on them. Plaintiff filed suit against NCS
and several of its companies in the District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. As defendants were not
incorporated in Michigan, the issue of personal jurisdiction arise. The courts of appeals have held that in order
to establish specific personal jurisdiction (showing that this company has established contacts with the forum
state), one must show three things: (1) the defendant purposefully availed himself of the privilege of acting in
the forum state, (2) the cause of action arises from the defendant’s activities there, and (3) the defendant’s acts
were so substantial as to make the exercise of personal jurisdiction there reasonable. The district court is
considering whether the exercise of personal jurisdiction is proper. What should it decide and why? - Apple, Inc. and Major League Baseball (MLB) signed an agreement for the broadcast of games. MLB will
offer two live games per day, subject to black-out restrictions. Then MLB plans to roll out an entire offering of
out-of-market games currently offered only through its premium live streaming video service. Identify some
other, extra features users want. Identify restrictions that MLB will want to see in the agreement.