Internet Library of Law
and Court Decisions

Bensusan Restaurant Corp. v. King

In Bensusan,, the Court held that uploading a web site on a server located outside the forum that was accessible to forum residents was insufficient, without more, to support jurisdiction. To promote a small jazz club in Missouri named the Blue Note, defendant created a web site hosted on a server located in Missouri. The web site offered information on upcoming club events and ticket sales. Also included was a phone number for ordering tickets, which had to be picked up at the club's Missouri offices -- no tickets were mailed out-of-State. Plaintiff, owner of the trademark "The Blue Note", under which name it operated a famous club in New York, commenced a trademark infringement action in New York. Jurisdiction was premised on the accessibility of the site to New York computer operators via the Web. "[T]he issue ... is whether the existence of a 'site' on the World Wide Web ... without anything more, is sufficient to vest this Court with personal jurisdiction over defendant..." . The Court answered the question in the negative, holding that the exercise of jurisdiction in such circumstances would run afoul of the Due Process clause of the United States Constitution. Said the Court "[defendant] has done nothing to purposefully avail himself of the benefits of New York. [Defendant], like numerous others, simply created a web site and permitted anyone who could find it to access it. Creating a site, like placing a product into the stream of commerce, may be felt nationwide - or even worldwide - but without more, it is not an act purposefully directed toward the forum state."

The full text of this decision can be found on a website maintained by the John Marshall Law School.