Plaintiff Mink discussed the possibility of marketing a software product he recently submitted a patent application for with a man named Stark. Stark allegedly shared Mink's ideas with the defendants. Mink brought suit in Texas to claim damages against defendants for conspiring to duplicate his software in violation of his patent-pending rights. Mink was a Texas resident, whereas defendants were based in Vermont. To the knowledge of the court, defendants had no dealings with Texas. The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas dismissed the case for lack of personal jurisdiction. Plaintiff filed a motion for reconsideration, alleging that the defendant's website fulfilled the minimum contacts requirement for personal jurisdiction. The Fifth Circuit affirmed the trial court's decision, applying the "Zippo" test. It held that the defendant's website, which did not accept online orders, was little more than passive advertisement. The court held that without greater interactivity between the website and the residents of Texas, personal jurisdiction would not be appropriate.