Jurisdiction & the Internet, once again

What is the geographic location of Second Life? It is a virtual world, accessible all around the world through Internet. No passport, but one password.

However, its servers are located in the U.S., and Linden Research Inc is located in San Francisco.

Several French non-profit organizations have recently asked a French Court to issue an injunction, seeking to bar minors access to Second Life. The Court found that the evidence presented by the plaintiffs were not probative enough, and refused to issue the injunction.

Comment on the decision on the official Second Life blog here.

On the issue of jurisdiction of the French court over Second Life, Linden Research had argued thatFrench law is not applicable to Second Life, because“ the content of the site www.secondlife.com is entirely written in English, as are the majority of “islands” created by users, among which only a few (…) are targeting the French public.”

The A.F.A., representing French Internet providers, argued that “the unlawfulness of a web site can be appreciated by the French law only if the site is targeting the French public” and concluded that second life is only a “passive “site.

The court held that even though English is the prevalent language spoken on Second Life’s islands, Second Life cannot deny that it is targeting an international audience. The court also refered to the fact that several French politicians, business person and artists are using second life.

Since the damage is felt in France, the Court concluded that it has jurisdiction over the case according to the article 46 of the French Civil Procedure Code. It is the same article that was used by the French Court in the now uber-famous LICRA v.Yahoo case.

Article 46 of the NCPC: (via Legifrance, French Codes in English)

The claimant may seize at his choice, in addition to the court in whose province the defendant has established his dwelling;

- in contractual matters, the court in whose province actual delivery of the personalty or in whose province the performance of the agreed service has been contemplated;

- in delictual matters, the court in whose province the wrongful act was occasioned or the one in whose province the damage was suffered;

- in mixed matters, the court in whose province the immovable is situated;

- in matters of spousal maintenance or contribution to the expenses of marriage, the court in whose province the creditor has established his dwelling