Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-5_07-cv-01304/USCOURTS-cand-5_07-cv-01304-1/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 840
Nature of Suit: Trademark
Cause of Action: 15:1114 Trademark Infringement

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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ORDER DENYING MOTION TO DISMISS WITHOUT PREJUDICE—No. C-07-01304 RMW

MAG

United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

E-Filed on 7/20/07

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

SAN JOSE DIVISION

INVESTCORP RETIREMENT

SPECIALISTS, INC.,

Plaintiff,

v.

MOTOHISA OHNO, et al.

Defendants.

No. C-07-01304 RMW

ORDER DENYING MOTION TO DISMISS

WITHOUT PREJUDICE

[Re Docket Nos. 6, 10]

On March 6, 2007, plaintiff Investcorp Retirement Specialists, Inc., filed a complaint against

Motohisa Ohno for cybersquatting, trademark infringement, unfair competition and false

advertising. On April 18, 2007, Ohno, proceeding pro se, filed a response to plaintiff's complaint,

which this court took to be an objection to this court's jurisdiction. In an order dated May 21, 2007,

the court calendared a motion to dismiss for July 13, 2006, permitting plaintiff to file an opposition

by June 8, 2007 and defendant to file a reply by June 29, 2007. 

To date, the court has not received a reply from defendant, so it is unclear whether his

intention was, as the court interpreted, to file a motion to dismiss. In any event, the court is satisfied

that it has both subject matter and personal jurisdiction over defendant. Defendant's response

indicates that the parties are diverse for purposes of subject matter jurisdiction. And although

Case 5:07-cv-01304-RMW Document 17 Filed 07/20/07 Page 1 of 3
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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ORDER DENYING MOTION TO DISMISS WITHOUT PREJUDICE—No. C-07-01304 RMW

MAG 2

defendant is a Japanese resident, the court appears to have general personal jurisdiction over him. 

Absent further evidence or argument from defendant, the use of his extensive domain name portfolio

to engage in affiliate marketing sufficiently targets California residents to permit him to enjoy the

benefits of doing business in California. 

Thus, based on the information before the court, it appears that defendant's domain name

holdings and his use of those holdings is sufficient to subject him to personal jurisdiction in

California. Accordingly, any challenge to jurisdiction defendant may have made in his April 18,

2007 response is overruled and the motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction is denied without

prejudice. The parties shall appear for a case management conference on August 31, 2007 at 10:30. 

The parties shall file a joint pretrial conference statement no later than seven days prior to such

conference.

DATED: 7/20/07

RONALD M. WHYTE

United States District Judge

Case 5:07-cv-01304-RMW Document 17 Filed 07/20/07 Page 2 of 3
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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ORDER DENYING MOTION TO DISMISS WITHOUT PREJUDICE—No. C-07-01304 RMW

MAG 3

A copy of this order was mailed on 7/23/07 to: 

Counsel for Plaintiff:

Karl Stephen Kronenberger karl@kronenbergerlaw.com 

Henry M. Burgoyne hank@kronenbergerlaw.com 

Jeffrey Michael Rosenfeld jeff@kronenbergerlaw.com 

Defendant (pro se):

Motohisa Ohno 

3-23-30 Higashi-Toyoda 

Hino Tokyo 191-0052 

Japan 

Counsel is responsible for distributing copies of this order to co-counsel, as necessary.

Case 5:07-cv-01304-RMW Document 17 Filed 07/20/07 Page 3 of 3