I. Introduction

A court must establish personal jurisdiction over parties before it may hear a case or controversy. With the advent of the Internet and Internet-based contacts, however, establishing personal jurisdiction can be a very complicated process.

Courts have generally attempted to respond to jurisdictional challenges involving Internet contacts along traditional lines. However, the state of the law with regard to so-called Internet jurisdiction remains unsettled, and the Supreme Court has not yet offered guidance. Nevertheless, general trends in assessing challenges to personal jurisdiction based on Internet activity allow for a relatively systematic approach.

First, this article provides a review of the minimum contacts framework, which - under the due process clause - establishes the constitutional limits of personal jurisdiction. Second, it gives a brief overview of the New York Long-Arm Statute - the mechanism by which New York state exercises jurisdiction over out-of-state defendants - and summaries of cases applying the long-arm statute to defendants based on Internet activities. Finally, it presents a survey of cases in which lower federal courts have adjudicated challenges to jurisdiction based on Internet activities.