International Jurisdiction and Commercial Litigation

International Jurisdiction and Commercial Litigation
Author: Hélène van Lith
Publisher: T.M.C. Asser Press
Total Pages: 606
Release: 2009-06-11
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9789067043038

avoiding gaps and provide a claimant with limited forum shopping possibilities. In that same vein, the paradigm proposed by Ms. Van Lith ought to shift to special grounds of jurisdiction based on sufficient connection between the defendant and the forum state. In that respect, she proposes jurisdiction at the place where the defendant has a fixed place of business from which he carries out business activities directly related to the claimant’s contractual claim. Absent such a place of business, jurisdiction is to be vested in the courts of the country where the defendant is engaged in substantial business activities in relation to the contract with a limited forum shopping for a claimant in favour of the court of the defendant’s home country. Other general or special grounds for jurisdiction (such as claimant-related connections or property-based connections) are rejected because they do not meet the proposed paradigm of sufficient connection. As to exceptions to international jurisdiction rules as proposed, Ms. Van Lith comes to the conclusion that a general escape provision is to be avoided except for the ‘tra- acting business’ rule where – in accordance with the paradigm proposed – international jurisdiction can be avoided in favour of the defendant’s home court when the dispute is insufficiently connected with the forum making it unfair under the circumstances to expect the defendant to be subjected to the jurisdiction of that court. In this respect, a balanced approach to predictability and flexibility is being proposed.

Choice of Law in Copyright and Related Rights

Choice of Law in Copyright and Related Rights
Author: Mireille M. M. van Eechoud
Publisher: Kluwer Law International B.V.
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2003-01-01
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9041120718

Nobody denies that the traditional territorial approach to copyright and other intellectual property rights has come under pressure. Yet it persists. Faced with the need to determine the applicable law in cross-border cases, lawyers everywhere wrestle with the implications of the territorial nature of copyright and related rights. In this book Mireille van Eechoud clears the way to the formulation of conflict rules that reflect the purpose of copyright law- to protect creators and stimulate the production and use of information- without reverting to old-fashioned notions of territoriality. She shows how the applicable law can be determined for four distinct legal avenues of intellectual property law: Which exclusive rights exist in an intellectual creation and for how long; Who is considered to own such right; How can these rights be transferred; and What continues infringement of copyright and related rights. Mireille van Eechoud shows how, when each of these questions is approached in the light of the different allocation principles used in modern choice of law, a new clarity begins to emerge that promises in time to build a set of conflict rules well suited to the unprecedented copyright and related rights issues that we find so difficult to resolve today. Her in-depth analysis draws in the classis multilateral conventions and treaties, underlying policies, technological and economic developments, utilitarian grounds versus justice considerations, and issues of infringement in the digital environment. INFORMATION LAW SERIES 12.