Opinion ID: 148585
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: introduction

Text: There is only one issue presented on appeal: whether, for the purposes of New York's Long-Arm Statute, the situs of injury in copyright infringement cases is the location of the infringing conduct or the location of the plaintiff and, perhaps, the copyright. The language of the statute provides insufficient guidance to allow us to answer that question based on the statute's plain meaning. And while Penguin has not specifically pleaded that the situs of injury is influenced by the fact that the alleged infringement here was conducted by means of the Internet and online libraries, we recognize that this fact may affect the analysis. We find insufficient guidance to answer the question of where the situs of injury is located in the text of the statute, the statute's legislative history, or the jurisprudence of New York state courts. The district court did not have the ability to ask the New York Court of Appeals for guidance. We do. We therefore certify to the New York Court of Appeals this question: In copyright infringement cases, is the situs of injury for purposes of determining long-arm jurisdiction under N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 302(a)(3)(ii) the location of the infringing action or the residence or location of the principal place of business of the copyright holder?