Wound Care Educ. Institute v. Thomas, No. 07 C 6505, Slip Op. (N.D. Ill. Jun. 17, 2008) (Conlon, J.).

Judge Conlon denied defendants’ (collectively “Wound Care Plus”) motion to dismiss plaintiff Wound Care Education Institute’s (“WCEI”) trademark and copyright infringement case for lack of personal jurisdiction, improper venue and forum non conveniens. WCEI provided wound treatment education to health professionals across the country using copyrighted materials, and is largely based in the Northern District. It alleged that Wound Care Plus attended three of its seminars and then began running competing seminars, including at least one in Chicago, using course materials that were substantially similar to or exact copies of WCEI’s copyrighted course materials. Wound Care Plus also operated a website which allowed its customers to register online for the Wound Care Plus seminars.

Personal Jurisdiction

The Court held that it had specific personal jurisdiction over Wound Care Plus, a New York resident, because it advertised its Chicago seminars in national publications seeking to register Illinois customers. Additionally, Wound Care Plus’s website created jurisdiction because it was an active, commercial website that allowed Wound Care Plus’s customers to register for, among others, its Chicago seminar online.

Venue

Venue was proper in the Northern District, despite the fact that Wound Care Plus did not reside in Illinois because a substantial part of the events giving rise to WCEI’s claims, the Chicago seminars, occurred within the Northern District.

Forum Non Conveniens

The Court noted that the motion should have been brought pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 1404(a), instead of the common law forum non conveniens.  Forum non conveniens was inapplicable to this case because the alternate forum was not abroad or a state court.