N-the-Water Publishing, Inc. dba Still N the Water Publishing produces hip-hop and rap music through sampling, the process of copying portions of prior master sound recordings directly onto new sound recordings and then rapping on top of the new sound recording. Bridgeport Music is the owner of the copyright for the music that Still N the Water has used for its rap and hiphop song productions. Bridgeport is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, and Still N the Water is part of a series of record companies based in Florida and Texas. Bridgeport brought suit against Still N the Water in federal district court in Tennessee. Under Tennessee’s longarm statute, jurisdiction may be asserted on “any basis not inconsistent with the constitution of this state or of the United States.” [Tenn. Code Ann. § 20–2–214(a)(6)] Still N the Water sells CDs in all 50 states, with sales spread equally among the states and marketing plans for each of the states.
Can Still N the Water be required to come to Tennessee to defend the lawsuit? [Bridgeport Music, Inc. v Still N The Water Pub, 327 F.3d 472 (6th Cir. 2003); cert. denied 540 U.S. 948 (2003)]