Bensusan Restaurant Corp. v. King
| Bensusan Restaurant Corp. v. King | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Court | United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit |
| Full case name | Bensusan Restaurant Corporation v. Richard B. King, individually and doing business as The Blue Note |
| Argued | April 9, 1997 |
| Decided | Sept. 10, 1997 |
| Citation(s) | 126 F.3d 25 |
| Case history | |
| Prior action(s) | Bensusan Restaurant Corp. v. King, 937 F. Supp. 295 (S.D.N.Y. 1996) |
| Holding | |
| In favor of defendant Richard B. King | |
| Court membership | |
| Judge(s) sitting | Ellsworth Van Graafeiland, John M. Walker, Jr., Pierre N. Leval |
Bensusan Restaurant Corp. v. King, 126 F.3d 25, is a 1997 United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit case that helped define the parameters of personal jurisdiction in the Internet context, specifically for passive websites that only advertise local services. The opinion, written by Judge Ellsworth Van Graafeiland, affirmed the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York's holding that defendant Richard B. King's Internet website did not satisfy New York's long-arm statute requirements for plaintiff Bensusan Restaurant Corporation to bring a trademark infringement suit in New York. The District Court's decision also likened creating a website to merely placing a product into the stream of commerce, and held that such an act was insufficient to satisfy due process and personal jurisdiction requirements.
Bensusan Restaurant Corporation ("Bensusan") was a New York corporation that owned "The Blue Note," a jazz club in Greenwich Village, New York. Bensusan owned all trademark rights, title and interest in the federally registered "The Blue Note" mark. Richard B. King ("King") was a Missouri resident who owned "The Blue Note" club in Columbia, Missouri. In April 1996, King posted a website hosted on a computer server in Missouri that contained "general information about the club in Missouri as well as a calendar of events and ticketing information". In addition, King's website contained a disclaimer that stated "The Blue Note, Columbia, Missouri should not be confused in any way, shape, or form with Blue Note Records or the jazz club, Blue Note, located in New York. The CyberSpot is created to provide information for Columbia, Missouri area individuals only, any other assumptions are purely coincidental".
Bensusan brought suit in the Southern District of New York, asserting claims of trademark infringement, trademark dilution and unfair competition. King moved to dismiss the action for lack of personal jurisdiction pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Bensusan asserted that New York had personal jurisdiction over King based on two subsections of the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules - § 302(a)(2) and § 302(a)(3)(ii). Bensusan's primary argument was that because King's website was accessible in New York, King could have foreseen that it would be viewed in New York, and should have restricted access to only users in Missouri.
...
Wikipedia