Court to Rehear Key Website Jurisdiction Case

SAN FRANCISCO – An appeals court, deciding to toss a previous ruling, will rehear a case that spelled out where website operators can be sued.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided Thursday to rehear the case of Gator.com Corp. vs. L.L. Bean, No. 02-15035, a decision that held that L.L. Bean’s Internet, catalog, and mail-order retail operations are sufficient to support jurisdiction in California, even though the company has no physical presence in the state.

The September 2003 ruling by three judges was thrown out without comment and will be reheard by the full panel.

The court held that L.L. Bean’s marketing and retail activities, combined with the “virtual store” found on its website, created a “consistent and substantial pattern of business relations” in California, sufficient to confer personal jurisdiction over the Maine-based company.

Gator.com, an advertising company whose program monitors Internet users’ web surfing and displays pop-up windows when users visit certain websites, sued L.L. Bean, saying its pop-up windows did not infringe or dilute L.L. Bean’s trademark rights.

When users visited L.L. Bean’s website, Gator’s program displayed a pop-up. L.L. Bean sent Gator a cease-and-desist letter in March 2001 demanding that Gator stop its program from displaying pop-up windows on L.L. Bean’s website offering coupons for Eddie Bauer, an L.L. Bean competitor.

Gator, which is now Claria Corp. of Redwood City, Calif., sued for declaratory judgment that its pop-up windows did not infringe L.L. Bean’s trademark rights.

The U.S. District Court granted L.L. Bean’s motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction.

The 9th Circuit reversed the decision in its September ruling that found that L.L. Bean had “substantial… [or] continuous and systematic” contacts with California by virtue of its “mak[ing] sales, solicit[ing] business in the state, and serv[ing] the state’s markets” through its Internet and catalog businesses.

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Sara Jay, Dan Leal to Sponsor XBIZ Amsterdam Kick-Off Event

Sara Jay’s Wyde Syde Productions and Porno Dan Leal’s Market64 will co-sponsor the Bottoms Up Day Drinking kick-off event for XBIZ Amsterdam 2025 at Excalibur Café on Sept. 2, from 2-4 p.m. (CET).

AEBN Publishes Report on DP Trends

AEBN has published a report on DP and extreme penetration categories from its straight and gay theaters.

Free Speech Coalition Appoints Megan Stokes to Board of Directors

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) announced today that it has appointed Megan Stokes to its Board of Directors.

FansRevenue Acquires DivaTraffic

FansRevenue has acquired web traffic service DivaTraffic.

AEBN Announces Peter Green as Top Male Boy/Girl Performer for Summer 2025

AEBN has revealed its top 10 male Boy/Girl performers for summer 2025, with Peter Green landing atop the leaderboard.

Spicey AI Relaunches Site, Debuts $Spicey Tokens

Interactive voice chat platform Spicey AI has relaunched its website and introduced $Spicey tokens.

FSC: Missouri Age Verification Rule Will Not Take Effect August 30

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) announced that Missouri's proposed age verification legislation will not take effect on August 30, as it had originally estimated.

Little Caprice, Marcello Bravo to Co-Host 2025 XMA Europa Awards

XBIZ is pleased to announce that husband-and-wife duo Little Caprice and Marcello Bravo will co-host adult’s biggest night in Europe: the 2025 XMA Europa Awards on Sept. 4, in the epic climax to XBIZ’s fall events series.

Germany Will Block Payments to AV-Noncompliant Adult Sites as of Dec. 1

Starting Dec. 1, Germany will implement new rules prohibiting financial institutions from providing payment services to adult sites deemed to have inadequate age verification systems and making it easier for the government to target websites mirroring the content of such sites.

Jerkmate Joins Pineapple Support as Partner-Level Sponsor

Jerkmate has joined the ranks of over 70 adult businesses and organizations committing funds and resources to Pineapple Support.

Show More