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9 Marq. Intell. Prop. L. Rev. 37 (2005)
Zippo Is Dying, Should It Be Dead: The Exercise of Personal Jurisdiction by U.S. Federal Courts over Non-Domiciliary Defendants in Trademark Infringement Lawsuits Arising out of Cyberspace

handle is hein.journals/marq9 and id is 43 raw text is: ZIPPO IS DYING, SHOULD IT BE DEAD?: THE EXERCISE OF PERSONAL JURISDICTION BY U.S. FEDERAL COURTS OVER NON-DOMICILIARY DEFENDANTS IN TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT LAWSUITS ARISING OUT OF CYBERSPACE BUNMI AwOYEMI* I. INTRODUCTION This Paper will critically analyze the decision of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania in the case of Zippo Manufacturing Co. v. Zippo DOT Corn, Inc.' The decision in that case created a sub-doctrine for dealing with the personal jurisdiction problems relating to law suits against the owner of a Web site for trademark infringement arising out of activities on the Web site. Many federal court decisions across the United States have referred to the 1997 Zippo case as the seminal case for dealing with personal jurisdiction issues that arise in the Internet context. The personal jurisdiction sub-doctrine formulated by Zippo, which many of these courts have followed blindly, subliminally teaches away from the traditional doctrines used in resolving personal jurisdiction issues in the non-Internet context. One thing that is important to bear in mind is that Zippo itself specifically states that the plaintiff in the case did not submit the question of whether the court can exercise general personal jurisdiction.2 The court noted that the question submitted for resolution was whether * Bunmi Awoyemi is a partner in the International Law Firm, M.O. Awoyemi & Co. He attended Ogun State University, Nigeria (LL.B 1997); The Nigerian Law School (B.L 1998); and Tulane Law School (LL.M in Maritime Law 1999, SJ.D. 2003). The author is admitted to practice law in New York, is a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England & Wales, and a Barrister & Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. 1. 952 F. Supp. 1119 (W.D. Pa. 1997). 2. Id. at 1122.

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