Washington Shoe Company v. A-Z Sporting Goods Inc
Opinion
Opinion
Bybee, J.
In this copyright infringement action, we address whether an Arkansas retailer is subject to personal jurisdiction in Washington when its only relevant contact with the state is a claim that it willfully violated a copyright held by a Washington corporation. The district court for the Western District of Washington dismissed Washington Shoe Company’s (‘Washington Shoe”) action against A-Z Sporting Goods, Inc. (“A-Z”) for lack of personal jurisdiction. We reverse.
I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Plaintiff-appellant Washington Shoe is a Washington corporation that has done business in the state of Washington for over 100 years. Washington Shoe, as its name suggests, manufactures a variety of foot apparel for men, women, and children. Defendant-appellee A-Z is an Arkansas corporation that operates a single retail store in Alma, Arkansas, where it sells goods related to hunting, fishing, and outdoor activities. According to A-Z, it does not sell products over the Internet and does not have an interactive website that allows customers to order its products, although a different A-Z entity, with some common management, does sell some products over eBay.