Abstract

Under public international rules all countries are equal sovereigns which have an absolute sovereignty within their territory. The globalization and economic integration and the advent of the internet has in fact blurred the clear-cut national borders making the concept of territoriality not effective and relevant in terms of the scope of exercise of national sovereignty. For this reason, a country like the United States with great economic, financial and military power could in fact have more meaningful power to exercise jurisdiction beyond its national borders. This is not only a legal assertion of jurisdiction but also a de facto power with the sanctionable remedies exercised within the United States with the deterrent effects beyond its national borders. Whether this exercise of power is legitimate under public international law is not a settled matter. Trademark law is one of the contexts in which the legitimacy of international application of national law should be examined.