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24 LawNow [43] (1999-2000)
I'm being Sued, Where

handle is hein.journals/lanow24 and id is 271 raw text is: 
























Kate Dykstra


   The growth of the internet as a medium for global commercial activity pre-
sents significant challenges to traditional court jurisdictional rules. When
communicating and conducting business on a borderless international network
of interconnected computers, it is essential for individuals and corporations to
gain a better understanding as to which courts on this planet will take j urisdic-
tion with respect to their activities. From the Canadian perspective, a primary
concern relates to when internet-related activities originating in Canada might
find themselves embroiled in a lawsuit in some place like Mississippi. Examples
of when this might be of concern include everything from defaming a person in
material you post on a chat line, using a name or slogan that infringes another
person's registered US. trademark, to giving negligent medical advice to someone
in Texas over the internet.
   When are you at risk of being sued in a United States courthouse for internet
activity?
    One of the basic tenets of international law is that sovereign states have
exclusive jurisdiction in their own territory As a result, states are often hesitant
                                       to exercise jurisdiction over events that
 ... there are situations where a United  may take place in the territory of another
   States court may decide to take     sovereign state without good reason.
                                       Implicit in the concept of sovereignty is
   jurisdiction over the activities of an  the undisputed right of a state to control
   individual or corporation that is   both the residents within its jurisdiction
   doing business in a state.          and the rights relating to property within
                                       that state's jurisdiction. Even when a
court has inherent jurisdiction over the parties to a dispute or the subject matter
of that dispute, there are still circumstances when the court will decline to take

                        February/ March              2000                 24

      This article is copyright @ 2000 by LawNow, Legal Studies Program, Faculty of Extension,
   University of Alberta. Permission to reproduce material from LawNow may be granted on request.

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