## Facts

- Drew Heriot, an Australian film director and producer, and his company Drew Pictures Pty Ltd. worked with Australian television producer Rhonda Byrne on the self-help documentary film *The Secret*, which was produced in Australia.
- After the film was made, Byrne met Chicago businessman Robert Rainone to arrange U.S. distribution.
- Rainone formed Chicago-based entities, including The Secret LLC and TS Merchandising Ltd., to handle sales, merchandising, business development, and contracting.
- Distribution operations tied to the film—including internet sales and DVD manufacturing—were based in the United States.
- A dispute arose between Heriot and Byrne regarding copyright ownership in *The Secret*.
- Heriot and Drew Pictures sued in the Northern District of Illinois asserting copyright infringement and unjust enrichment.
- Defendants moved to dismiss for forum non conveniens in favor of Australia; although not all defendants were Australian, they agreed to submit to jurisdiction there.
- Plaintiffs argued Australia was not an adequate forum because an Australian court could not fully adjudicate alleged copyright-infringement claims connected to exploitation outside Australia.

## Issues

1. Whether Australia provided an adequate alternative forum for the parties’ dispute over rights in *The Secret*.
2. Whether the private- and public-interest factors favored dismissal from the Northern District of Illinois in favor of litigation in Australia.

## Decision

- The court dismissed the action on forum non conveniens grounds.
- The court concluded Australia was an adequate alternative forum where defendants agreed to submit to jurisdiction.
- The court determined the balance of convenience and forum interests favored litigating the dispute in Australia rather than in Illinois.

## Legal Principles

- A forum non conveniens dismissal requires (1) an available and adequate alternative forum and (2) a showing that private- and public-interest factors strongly favor the alternative forum.
- A foreign forum may be “adequate” even if it would not provide the same causes of action or identical remedies, so long as it offers a meaningful avenue to litigate the dispute.
- A plaintiff’s forum choice receives less weight when the plaintiff is foreign to the chosen forum.
- In weighing forum non conveniens, courts consider practical trial burdens (location of witnesses and evidence, cost of attendance, access to compulsory process) and public factors (local interest in the controversy and administrative burdens on the court).

## Conclusion

In *Heriot and Drew Pictures v. Byrne*, the district court dismissed a copyright-related dispute arising from the Australian production of *The Secret*, holding that Australia was an adequate and more convenient forum after defendants agreed to litigate there and the convenience and forum-interest factors favored resolving the conflict in Australia rather than Illinois.


Heriot and Drew Pictures v. Byrne, 2008 WL 4874297 (2008)