Extraterritoriality refers to the application of a nation’s law to persons, conduct, or property outside its own territory. Customary international law allows nations to regulate extraterritorially on a number of different bases, including effects, nationality, and universal jurisdiction. Nations generally limit the extraterritorial application of their laws to a greater extent than customary international law requires. For example, the United States applies a presumption against extraterritoriality to federal law and sometimes imposes additional limitations as a matter of prescriptive comity. Some U.S. states have their own presumptions against extraterritoriality, which may differ from the federal presumption.
A Primer on Extraterritoriality
[Updated September 1, 2025] Extraterritoriality refers to the application of a state’s law beyond the state’s borders. Although the word “extraterritorial” often has negative connotations, international law permits a great deal of extraterritorial regulation. In a world where trade, information, crime, and lots of other things regularly cross borders, states often have an interest in…
Continue ReadingD.C. Circuit on Personal Jurisdiction in Foreign-Cubed Cases
The D.C. Circuit (Judge Patricia Millet) recently grappled with the limits of federal personal jurisdiction in a suit between foreign parties regarding events that took place outside the United States. In Gligorov v. Nation of Brunei, the court affirmed the dismissal of RICO claims against three corporate defendants for lack of personal jurisdiction. The opinion…
Continue ReadingFourth Circuit Affirms Extraterritorial Injunction in IP Dispute
The Fourth Circuit (Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III) recently affirmed an extraterritorial preliminary injunction in a cross-border intellectual property dispute. In dmarcian Inc. v. DMARC Advisor BV, the court engaged in distinct extraterritorial analyses of federal trademark law, federal trade secret law, and state tortious interference claims. It is a particularly well-written opinion worth reading…
Continue ReadingChina’s Jurisdictional Maximalism
In 2020, Chinese courts issued an unexpected wave of anti-suit injunctions over just five months. These injunctions targeted major foreign owners of telecommunications technology, many of them European, and barred them from pursuing foreign litigation related to their patents. In 2022, the European Union (“EU”) filed a request for consultations at the World Trade Organization…
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