Maritz, Inc. v. Cybergold, Inc.
Maritz, Inc. v. Cybergold, Inc., 947 F. Supp. 1328 (E.D. Mo. 1996), was a personal jurisdiction case in which the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri ruled that operator of website, for which server was located in California, was subject to personal jurisdiction in Missouri under "commission of a tortious act" provision of Missouri's long-arm statute, §506.500 RSMo. The case was brought before the court by Marits, Inc. alleging that the Cybergold's use of mark for advertising internet site was a trademark infringement. Cybergold moved to dismiss the suit for lack of personal jurisdiction, but the court found that the operational nature of the Internet based service provided a connection for Cybergold to be sued in Missouri. Background Factual background Cybergold Inc., the defendant, was a California based corporation. The company created a website, www.cybergold.com, to promote its upcoming Internet service. The service consisted in maintain a mailing list of internet users who were willing to receive mailing in areas of their particular interest. Some of those users could be located in the state of Missouri. Cybergold provided to the users in its mail list an electronic mailbox and was planning forward advertisements for products and