D.C. District Court lacks personal jurisdiction over Chinese video hosting website, providing guidance for analyzing jurisdiction over foreign internet companies.

US law governing whether a court has personal jurisdiction over foreign internet companies is imprecise. However, a recent opinion from the District Court for the District of Columbia — Triple Up Ltd. v. Youku Tudou Inc. — sheds new light on the how courts analyze personal jurisdiction over foreign entities pursuant to the US Constitution’s due process requirements.1 At the very least, courts require that plaintiffs plead facts sufficient to show that the foreign entity’s contacts with the United States in general, and the forum state in particular, go beyond mere accessibility to and basic interactivity with the entity’s website in the United States.