Bensusan v. King

Citation: Bensusan Restaurant Corp., v. King, 937 F. Supp. 295 (S.D.N.Y.1996).

Factual Background
The operator of a jazz club sued the operator of a  jazz club for trademark infringement. The website at issue contained general information about the defendant's club, a calendar of events and ticket information. However, the site was not interactive. If a user wanted to go to the club, she would have to call or visit a ticket outlet and then pick up tickets at the club on the night of the show.

Trial Court Decision
The court refused to exercise jurisdiction based on the website alone, reasoning that it did not rise to the level of purposeful availment of that jurisdiction's laws. The court distinguished the case from CompuServe v. Patterson, where the user had “ ‘reached out’ from to  and ‘originated and maintained’ contacts with .”