IP Law Daily, COPYRIGHT—E.D. Tex.: Dismissal granted in publisher’s dispute against UK author, (Nov 18, 2025)

By Kevin M. Finson, J.D.

A motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction was granted because the complaint wrongly attributed actions of a business entity to its former owner in her individual capacity.

A book publisher and copyright holder failed to show personal jurisdiction in a declaratory judgment action over an alleged infringer who was the original author of licensed works, the U.S. District Court in Sherman, Texas, has held. The court found that the alleged infringer had not taken any action to purposefully avail herself of the privileges of doing business in the United States, (Bella Forrest Publishing, LLC v. Murphy, No. 4:24-cv-00982-ALM, (E.D. Tex. Nov. 17, 2025)).

Bella Forrest Publishing, LLC (Bella Forrest) was the owner by assignment of an extensive intellectual property portfolio consisting of some 170 books and derivative works. Amber Murphy, a resident of the United Kingdom, was the original author of those works, and Bella Forrest claimed ownership by assignment from Murphy’s former publishing house.

Bella Forrest brought a declaratory judgment action against Murphy for copyright infringement, alleging that she had sold the works on Amazon and otherwise within Texas. Murphy moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction.

Personal jurisdiction. Noting first that the Texas long-arm statute extended jurisdiction to the full extent allowable by due process, the court turned to purposeful availment of the privilege of doing business in the United States, the only prong of the analysis in dispute.

A person identified as Bella Forrest or Bella S. Forrest had posted the allegedly infringing material for sale on Amazon.com. The court found that the evidence before it showed all of those actions had been taken by, and the proceeds from those sales received by, Hot Pancakes, Ltd., an entity formerly, but no longer, controlled by Murphy. Murphy had been engaged in litigation for some time attempting to obtain control of the works in question from that company, so the court saw no reason to treat it as her alter ego. Accordingly, Hot Pancakes’ actions could not be attributed to Murphy for personal jurisdiction purposes.

The court also found that Murphy’s email correspondence with Bella Forrest demanding the transfer of certain Bella Forrest Assets for payment was insufficient to establish personal jurisdiction. In 2017, the district held that “a threat of litigation, which is similar in nature to a cease-and-desist letter, does not create a basis for exercising personal jurisdiction over an out-of-state defendant.” Dall. Texans Soccer Club v. Major League Soccer Players Union, 247 F. Supp. 3d 784, 790–791 (E.D. Tex. 2017).

The court granted the motion to dismiss.

The Case is No. 4:24-cv-00982-ALM.

Judge: Mazzant, A.

Attorneys: Charles Arnison Wallace (Scale LLP) for Bella Forrest Publishing LLC. Jeremy Roller (Arete Law Group PLLC) for Amber Murphy.

Companies: Bella Forrest Publishing LLC

Cases: Copyright TexasNews