Altice Moves to Transfer Copyright Infringement Case to N.Y.'s Eastern District

Texas in Marshall. The Eastern District of New York is a “clearly more convenient venue” than the Eastern District of Texas, said the motion. All relevant evidence is derived from New York or locations “more proximate” to New York, it said. Two New York-based music conglomerates, Warner and Sony, through their subsidiaries, 35 of which are based in New York, “have sued New York-based Altice based on corporate decisions made in New York,” it said. The bulk of the evidence is in New York, and most of the parties’ current and former employees are in that state, said the motion. The plaintiffs’ notices purportedly identifying alleged activity of Altice’s users were sent to, and processed by, Altice in New York, it said. The defendant’s decisions about what to do in response to the plaintiffs’ accusations “took place at its headquarters in New York,” it said. Altice’s data related to notices of alleged infringement and accused users are maintained in New York, and the plaintiffs’ corporate decisions and conduct took place in their respective New York headquarters, it said. The recording industry's Dec. 7 complaint alleges that Altice has knowingly contributed to, and reaped “substantial profits” from, massive copyright infringement committed by thousands of its internet subscribers (see 2312080050). Altice's motion to dismiss Monday contends that the recording industry in recent years has wrongly sought to “install” ISPs as the internet’s “copyright police" (see 2401300001).