Zippo Manufacturing Co. v. Zippo Dot Com, Inc., 952 F. Supp. 1119 (W.D. Pa. 1997), was a decision by the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania in which the Court found personal jurisdiction over a defendant providing Internet services. The case is a landmark opinion regarding Internet jurisdiction, and it is one of the most frequently cited Cyberlaw opinions.The plaintiff is the Zippo manufacturing company whose pocket lighters are quite renowned and the Zippo Dot Com a USENET newsgroup web site. Dot Com registered the a domain called zippo.com, zippo.net and zipponews.com Dot Com’s offices were located in California and its contacts wih Pennsylvania occurred exclusively over the internet.Manufacturing filed a five count complaint against Dot Com alleging trademark dilution, infringement, and false designation under the Lanham Act and state law trademark dilution claims.Manufacturing’s basis of the trademark claims was Dot Com’s use of the word “Zippo” in the domain names in numerous locations in its website and in the heading of internet newsgroup messages that were posted by Dot Com subscribers. Dot Com moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction.The Court stated that “Dot Com had contracted with approximately 3,000 individuals and seven internet access providers in Pennsylvania.The intended object of the transactions had been the downloading of electronic messages that formed the basis of suit in Pennsylvania.These contacts constituted purposeful availment under the three-prong test as Dot Com freely chose to sell its services to residents of Pennsylvania.Therefore, the Court denied Dot Com's motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction.

Dot Com dissolved several months before the parties settled the case on December 11, 1998 on confidential terms.The zippo.com domain name now resolves to the Manufacturing company’s website.