Judge Dismisses YouTube Lawsuit Against Uri Gellar

According to a recent press release, Chief Judge, Vaughn R. Walker, of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, dismissed a lawsuit that the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed against Uri Gellar. In the 25 page opinion, Judge Walker decided that the United States District Court in San Francisco did not have jurisdiction over Geller, a British subject, or Explorologist, LTD, an English company that holds certain rights to him.

At the center of the controversy was a notification sent by a corporate employee requesting YouTube to take down a posted video clip. The takedown request stated that the posting contained a video clip (showing Gellar's personal medical doctor introducing Geller in a charity show) and photographs owned by the corporation.

Geller and Explorologist, LTD, represented by Richard Winelander, Esq. of Baltimore, Maryland, argued that there were multiple reasons to dismiss the case, including the fact that the court lacked both personal jurisdiction over the defendants and subject matter jurisdiction over an international DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) takedown based on English law. They also argued that the statements made by the corporate employee were true.

The release states that Judge Walker was troubled by the thought of applying United States Copyright Law to a YouTube takedown made by a foreign corporation in a foreign land. Furthermore, the release says that Judge Walker suggested that the case could be handled in Philadelphia where Explorologist, LTD filed an earlier suit against the individual who posted the video, claiming that the YouTube post violated English Copyright Law. According to Winelander, both lawsuits test the limits of territorial jurisdiction of U.S. Courts over international copyright disputes occurring in cyberspace.