'Ligue contre le racisme et l'antisémitisme et Union des étudiants juifs de France c. Yahoo! Inc. et Société Yahoo! France (LICRA c. Yahoo!') is a French court case decided by the Tribunal de grande instance of Paris in 2000. The case concerned the sale of memorabilia from the Nazi period by Internet auction and the application of national laws to the Internet. Some observers have claimed that the judgement creates a universal competence for French courts to decide Internet cases.
A related case before the United States courts concerning the enforcement of the French judgement reached the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, where a majority of the judges ruled to dismiss Yahoo!'s appeal.
Criminal proceedings were also brought in the French courts against Yahoo!, Inc. and its then president Timothy Koogle; the defendants were acquitted on all charges, a verdict that was upheld on appeal.
The civil case in France
LICRA complained that Yahoo! were allowing their online auction service to be used for the sale of memorabilia from the Nazi period, contrary to Article R645-1 of the French Criminal Code. These facts were not contested during the case.
The defense rested on the fact that these auctions were conducted under the jurisdiction of the United States. It was claimed that there were no technical means to prevent French residents from participating in these auctions, at least without placing the company in financial difficulty and compromising the existence of the Internet.
The defendants noted As such, they contended that the French court was incompetent to hear the case.
- 1) that their servers were located on US territory,
- 2) that their services were primarily aimed at US residents,
- 3) that the First Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and expression, and that any attempt to enforce a judgment in the United States would fail for unconstitutionality.
Article R645-1
Article R645-1 of the French Criminal Code prohibits to "wear or exhibit" in public uniforms, insignias and emblems which "recall those used" by
Proceedings in the United States
On January 10, 2001 Yahoo! announced that it would not appeal against the ruling in France. It decided to take the case before the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in San Jose, asking it to find that the French ordinance is not effective in the United States. Judge Jeremy Fogel found the decision returned by the Tribunal de grande instance de Paris to be inconsistent with the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, relating to freedom of expression, and that consequently it is inapplicable in the United States.
The LICRA and the UEJF appealed the decision before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. On August 23, 2004, the Ninth Circuit reversed the earlier holding, after finding that the district court did not have personal jurisdiction over the appellants, namely LICRA and UEJF. The court quoted the following criteria for the establishment of personal jurisdiction as stated in an earlier Ninth Circuit case, Bancroft & Masters, Inc. v. Augusta National Inc.:
"Exercise of jurisdiction is consistent with these requirements of 'minimum contacts' and 'fair play and substantial justice' where (1) the non-resident defendant has purposefully directed his activities or consummated some transaction with the forum or a resident thereof, or performed some act by which he purposefully availed himself of the privileges of conducting activities in the forum, thereby invoking the benefits and protections of its laws; (2) the claim arises out of or relates to the defendant's forum-related activities; and (3) the exercise of jurisdiction is reasonable.
...
... we determined [in Bancroft] that the express aiming 'requirement is satisfied when the defendant is alleged to have engaged in wrongful conduct targeted at a plaintiff whom the defendant knows to be a resident of the forum state."