Title: Where in the world is internet jurisdiction: a US perspective

Authors: Burke T. Ward, Janice C. Sipior

Addresses: Department of Marketing and Business Law, School of Business, Villanova University, 800 Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, PA 19085 USA. ' Department of Accountancy and Information Systems, School of Business, Villanova University, 800 Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, PA 19085 USA

Abstract: Jurisdiction is the authority of a court to resolve a specific legal action. In resolving legal actions related to electronic commerce (e-commerce) which crosses borders, there currently is no statutory solution to determine jurisdiction. The answer to the question, where in the world is internet jurisdiction, is currently determined case by case through court action. This paper addresses the concerns about internet jurisdiction risk from a US perspective. The questions of legal internet jurisdiction are then discussed by examining the legal theories for jurisdiction. The standards within the USA, as well as those applied in international disputes, are discussed and exemplified with legal cases. Based upon our analysis of the applicable legal theories and cases, we recommend approaches for electronic business (e-businesses) to address internet jurisdiction risk. We conclude that there is a need to develop a globally agreed upon standard.

Keywords: United States; USA; internet jurisdiction; electronic commerce; e-commerce; regulation; legislation; litigation; risk; court decisions; world wide web; judiciary; law courts; legal actions; cross border trade; statutory solutions; court actions; cases; case law; legal theories; international disputes; dispute resolution; electronic business; e-business; global standards; value chain management; ICT; information technology; communications technology; culture; socio-technical aspects.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVCM.2010.031798

International Journal of Value Chain Management, 2010 Vol.4 No.1/2, pp.5 - 17

Published online: 24 Feb 2010 *

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