Paulo v. France-Presse
- Rochon
- 1:22-cv-06210
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
Paulo v. France-Presse: Judge Rochon granted dismissal on forum non conveniens grounds and dismissed claims against Agence France-Presse for lack of personal jurisdiction.
Leong Francisco Paulo’s copyright claims were dismissed on forum non conveniens grounds subject to conditions concerning litigation in Portugal, while his claims against Agence France-Presse were dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction. The defendants must comply with the stated conditions and submit a proposed stipulation of dismissal.
What happened
In Paulo v. France-Presse, Leong Francisco Paulo alleged that Agence France-Presse, Getty Images (US), Inc., and Getty Images, Inc. used his photographs in violation of the Copyright Act. The defendants asked the court to dismiss the case.
The magistrate judge recommended dismissal because Portugal was a suitable forum, subject to conditions protecting Paulo’s ability to pursue his claims there. The recommendation also called for dismissal of the claims against Agence France-Presse for lack of personal jurisdiction. No party objected, so the district court reviewed the recommendation for clear error.
Judge Jennifer L. Rochon adopted the recommendation in full and granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss. The case was dismissed on forum non conveniens grounds subject to five conditions, the claims against Agence France-Presse were dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction, and the parties were ordered to submit a proposed dismissal agreement within 21 days.
The detailed version
- Paulo v. France-Presse · No. 1:22-cv-06210
- Rochon
- Sept. 25, 2023
Background
Leong Francisco Paulo sued Agence France-Presse, Getty Images (US), Inc., and Getty Images, Inc., alleging that they used his photographs in violation of the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101 et seq. This was Paulo’s second copyright action against these defendants. In an earlier round of the dispute, the court conditionally dismissed the action on forum non conveniens grounds as to all defendants and for lack of personal jurisdiction as to Agence France-Presse.
The defendants moved to dismiss this action. A magistrate judge recommended granting the motion on forum non conveniens grounds under the same conditions applied in the earlier round, dismissing the claims against Agence France-Presse for lack of personal jurisdiction, and requiring the parties to submit a proposed stipulation of dismissal.
Conditions for dismissal
The dismissal on forum non conveniens grounds was conditioned on the defendants agreeing to:
- Accept service in Portugal.
- Submit to the jurisdiction of the Lisbon District Court’s Labour Division and/or Intellectual Property Division.
- Waive any statute-of-limitations defense that may have arisen since Paulo filed this action.
- Toll the statute of limitations for Paulo’s claims under the Copyright Act and allow him to ask to reopen this action and reassert those claims if a Portuguese court declined to hear them.
- Agree that Paulo was not precluded from arguing that Clause 7 created a license that he rescinded.
Court’s review and ruling
No party objected to the magistrate judge’s recommendation within the required 14-day period. The district court therefore reviewed the recommendation for clear error and found none. It adopted the recommendation in its entirety.
The court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss consistent with the recommendation. It dismissed the case under the doctrine of forum non conveniens, subject to the five conditions above. It also dismissed the claims against Agence France-Presse for lack of personal jurisdiction. The parties were ordered to submit a proposed stipulation of dismissal agreeing to the conditions within 21 days of the order. The court stated that the lack of timely objections precluded appellate review and directed the clerk to close the case.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.