Re: Fw: Front Pages

Sorry if a copy of this got posted to the list without my reply.  An
unfortunate slip of the mouse.  Anyway...

>> The web provider is not creating a de facto presence in America.

>Courts have, in other circumstances (related to trademarks, sales or use
>tax, etc), ruled the other way. To apply those rulings regarding an
>established "virtual" presence in a jurisdiction one step further to
>international web content is less of a legal leap in logic than most other
>"solutions" to a problem.


This might depend on the nature of the business.  I recall reading a news
story a year or so ago, about a lawsuit over an alleged trademark violation.
There were two night clubs with, by coincidence, the same name--one in New
York and the other in...  uh... I don't remember, but I believe somewhere in
the midwest.  When the midwestern club set up a web site, the New York club
sued.  The court ruled there was no trademark violation because a club in
one part of the country isn't competing with a club in a different part of
the country.  There's no way to argue that a midwestern club could "steal"
customers who were looking for the NYC club but became confused about which
was which.  (Anyone with a better memory than mine is welcome to post
corrections and/or further details.)

Now, if you want to set up an online bookstore called Amazon, that's clearly
a different story...

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