When most people think of ZIP Codes™, they imagine a simple five-digit number designed for efficient mail delivery. However, there’s a much darker reality beneath the surface: the ZIP Code™ is actually a trademark. This legal classification holds profound implications about its origin, ownership, and use, exposing how the United States Postal Service (USPS) created and controls it as a proprietary system.More troublingly, the use of a ZIP Code™ carries far-reaching legal and commercial consequences. By including a ZIP Code™ in an address, individuals unknowingly submit themselves to federal jurisdiction, signaling their participation in a system of federally regulated commerce. Understanding this connection reveals how ZIP Codes™ function not only as logistical tools but also as instruments of control and governance, linking people to a centralized, federally managed structure.The “legal” definition of a “resident” takes on new significance in this context. In legal terms, a “resident” is not a living man or woman, but a “thing” identified and confined within a specific jurisdiction. By “identifying” as a “resident” through the use of a ZIP Code™, a living man or woman “legally” transforms into a corporate entity—an ens legis—a legal fiction. This shift in “status” by way of contract, strips the man or woman of their Sovereignty, and  places them under federal authority, stripping them of their status as a living man or woman and “subjecting” them to the far-reaching control of the government.