Outdoor Channel, Inc. v. Performance One Media, LLC

826 F. Supp. 2d 1271, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116165, 2011 WL 4824371
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Oklahoma
DecidedOctober 7, 2011
Docket4:10-cr-00030
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 826 F. Supp. 2d 1271 (Outdoor Channel, Inc. v. Performance One Media, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Outdoor Channel, Inc. v. Performance One Media, LLC, 826 F. Supp. 2d 1271, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116165, 2011 WL 4824371 (N.D. Okla. 2011).

Opinion

*1275 OPINION & ORDER

JAMES H. PAYNE, District Judge.

Before the court is the Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(2) (lack of personal jurisdiction) filed by Defendants Performance One Media, LLC (“POM”) and Robert J. Sigg (“Mr. Sigg”). Docket No. 22 (hereinafter “Motion to Dismiss”). This motion has been pending more than one year due to multiple requests to stay the case pending discovery on the issue of personal jurisdiction, followed by a highly contested discovery dispute regarding that very discovery. Both parties have repeatedly supplemented their arguments. See Docket Nos. 27, 73, 79, 87, 165 (Plaintiffs Response, supplements thereto, and final argument); Docket Nos. 39, 93, 113, 164, 173 (Defendant’s Reply, supplements thereto, submission of supplemental authority, and final argument). Oral argument on the Motion to Dismiss was held May 25, 2011. Docket No. 169.

Additionally, Plaintiff The Outdoor Channel, Inc. (“Outdoor Channel,” “Plaintiff’) also has two motions before the court: Plaintiffs Opposed Motion to Amend, which is fully briefed (see Docket Nos. 51, 52), and Plaintiffs Sealed Motion for Sanctions Against Defendants Concerning Jurisdiction Issues, which is also fully briefed (see Docket Nos. 177, 181, 183).

For the reasons cited herein, Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED, the Plaintiffs Motion to Amend is MOOT, and Plaintiffs Motion for Sanctions is DENIED.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Outdoor Channel, a Nevada Corporation having a principal place of business in California, brings suit against two defendants: Performance One Media, LLC, doing business as In Country Television (“POM”), and Robert Sigg, the president of POM. POM is a New York limited liability company with its principal place of business in Colorado. Sigg, an individual, resides in Colorado.

Outdoor Channel sued POM and Sigg for trademark infringement. 1 Shortly af *1276 ter this case was filed, Defendants filed their Motion to Dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. As in most such jurisdictional disputes, Defendants argue that they have no significant contact with Oklahoma such that they could reasonably be held to respond to a lawsuit in this state. Plaintiffs have responded by presenting evidence of Defendants’ contacts with the state of Oklahoma. Thus, the issue presented is whether Defendants’ contacts with Oklahoma are sufficient to justify an Oklahoma court exercising jurisdiction over them.

Initially, the court notes that Defendants are not licensed to do business in Oklahoma, do not maintain an office or employ any personnel in Oklahoma, and have no assets, bank accounts, or real or personal property in Oklahoma.

It is undisputed that the allegedly infringing trademarks utilized by POM have appeared on In Country Television’s (“ICTV’s”) television programming and website. ICTV’s television programming is broadcast nationally via satellite networks maintained by DISH Network (“DISH”) and DirecTV. Thus, DISH Network and DirecTV subscribers in Oklahoma can view allegedly infringing trademarks appearing on the programming. POM’s contracts with both DISH and DirecTV for the nationwide broadcast of ICTV do not specifically reference Oklahoma. Instead, both contracts reflect the understanding that ICTV programming was to be distributed to the entire United States. 2 Evidence presented to the court also demonstrates that POM and DirecTV executed a contract in March 2009 for the distribution of “Performance Television,” a product of POM that is separate from ICTV and therefore not a source of infringement with regard to Outdoor Channel’s allegations of trademark infringement. 3

ICTV programming includes “infomercials,” which may produce profits or sales “leads” for the advertising party. Pursuant to POM’s contracts with these third- *1277 party advertisers, POM may receive a percentage of profits derived from the advertising included in ICTV programming, or may also derive profits when infomercials produce sales “leads.” It is undisputed that a portion of the profits and/or leads created by infomercials appearing on ICTV potentially come from Oklahoma, and for purposes of this motion the court will assume that a portion of the profits was derived from Oklahoma residents. Evidence shows that POM’s other channel, “Performance Television” may have also derived profits sales or “leads” resulting from “infomercials” appearing on Performance Television, a portion of which also could have come from consumers in Oklahoma.

ICTV operates a website which can be viewed by anyone with access to the internet. The allegedly infringing marks and trade dress can therefore be viewed in Oklahoma via the internet. The website contains a link through which interested customers that do not have access to ICTV programming can contact POM and request its programming in their area. There is evidence that through this website function, ICTV received communication from Oklahoma residents requesting services, and in at least one instance, ICTV responded to an Oklahoma resident with instructions for how to request ICTV service from his satellite network provider. There is also evidence that the National Reining Horse Association (“NRHA”), an Oklahoma-based entity with which POM contracted to provide entertainment programming on ICTV, initially contacted POM through the ICTV website “about the possibility of NRHA doing business with [POM].” See Affidavit of Todd Barden ¶ 5, Docket No. 73-1, Exh. E.

The website also displays country-area real estate listings from across the United States, including a significant number of real properties in Oklahoma. Persons interested in the real estate listings can follow links to view additional information. Third-party company Lands of America, LLC, a Texas-based company, provided the content of the listings. Though POM’s contract with Lands of America provided potential for POM to receive revenue from real estate listings, it appears no revenue was ever received from real estate listings on ICTV’s website. See Plaintiffs Third Supplement to Response to Motion to Dismiss, Exh. R at 143, 147-52, Docket No. 88; Plaintiffs Fourth Supplement to Response to Motion to Dismiss, Exh. F., Docket No. 167-2 at 30-31.

Finally, Plaintiffs have submitted evidence that POM has ongoing business relationships with at least six Oklahoma-based entities, including the NRHA, BuckVentures, “Hunt, Sleep, Fish Outdoors,” Jimmy Houston Adventures, and Hooked on Fishin’. POM maintained contractual relationships with these entities, which produced television programming aired on ICTV. With regard to all of the entities, it appears that POM/ICTV regularly sent invoices to Oklahoma, and in response to these invoices, was paid by these Oklahoma entities with money drawn from an Oklahoma bank account.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
826 F. Supp. 2d 1271, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116165, 2011 WL 4824371, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/outdoor-channel-inc-v-performance-one-media-llc-oknd-2011.