Dealing With Federal Court.

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Dealing With Federal Court
We are not lawyers nor have we received any significant assistance from any lawyers. The information presented here is based upon our experiences in federal court defending and prosecuting claims of trademark infringement and copyright infringement. It is presented to prepare you for what lies ahead should you end up in court. The links provided are for source purposes only and we cannot vouch for their accuracy or their continued availablility.

There are Federal Courts covering every part of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the territories. Every district has at least one federal court. Some disricts have several. Click Here (a new browser will open) for more on this map of the US showing what districts serve which areas courtesy of teh US Courts.
Another resource is Legal.Answers.com . It is a site that contains lots of information about business, tax law and more. Tell them Tabberone sent you.

The Federal Court System
Federal district courts are courts of original jurisdiction. They are at the bottom of the federal court ladder and that is where you have to begin. District courts, like all federal courts, are also courts of limited subject matter jurisdiction, in that statutes authorize them to hear only certain kinds of cases, namely those based on federal questions or diversity of parties (where the plaintiff and defendant live or do business in different states. For example, defamation (once called slander and libel) is a state action, not a federal action, unless the claimed provable damages are greater than $75,000.
District Courts of Appeal are courts of appellate jurisdiction as they are authorized only to review decisions on appeal from district courts, certain specialized federal courts or federal administrative agencies. There are thirteen federal circuit courts of appeal; twelve for each one of the geographic circuits and one designated as the Federal Circuit which hears appeals from various specialized federal courts. Appeals from many of the administrative agencies go to the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
The United States Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over cases affecting ambassadors and in which states are parties. Original jurisdiction means the case gets filed in this court first. It has appellate jurisdiction over all other types of cases if it wants. Most cases that get appealed to the Supreme Court are mot heard.
In Which Federal Court to Bring Suit?
There must be sufficient contacts between the defendant and the forum state to exercise personal jurisdiction over the defendant. The forum state being your state. This means you cannot legally drag someone into your district court just because you want to sue them. They must have reasonable contact, usually business-wise, to come under your court's jurisdiction.
The court must possess subject matter jurisdiction over the controversy. It must be a federal issue.

Federal Court Cases
Alphabetically | by Federal Circuit | by Subject | by Court Quotations

Federal Statutes
Copyright Act 17 U.S.C. 5 | Digital Millenium Copyright Act 17 U.S.C. 12 | Lanham Act 15 U.S.C. 22