His heirs alleged the domain names were stolen.
Nissan.com is famous as an early test case in cybersquatting.
The car company Nissan battled for years to take the domain name from its registrant, whose name was Uzi Nissan. It failed, but Uzi Nissan spent over $3 million fighting Nissan in an eight-year battle that began in 1999.
Nissan passed away in 2020 from COVID-19. Last year, his heirs filed a lawsuit alleging that someone stole nissan.com and nissan.net from them.
Yesterday, the judge overseeing the case granted (pdf) the estate’s motion for default judgment. She ordered Verisign to transfer the domains from GKG to GoDaddy and for GoDaddy to transfer the domains to the estate.
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Mike says
But were they actually Stolen ?.
Jeremiya says
What do you mean
C.H. says
“She ordered Verisign to transfer the domains from GKG to GoDaddy and for GoDaddy to transfer the domains to the estate.”
Can somebody explain how court ordered domain transfers work?
Does “the judge ordered Verisign to transfer the domains from GKG to GoDaddy” mean that Verisign has the technical ability to transfer the domain out of GKG and into GoDaddy?
Or does GKG receive a order from verisign which GKG has to comply to, and technically GKG has to unlock and provide the AUTH code for GoDaddy to transfer?
Is there even an (1) auth code involved? (2) does somebody have to pay for the transfer? (3) does the transfer add a year to renewal?
Tim says
In WIPO cases, the winner can ask the registrar for the authcode, or to have it pushed to their own account. Not sure if the same applies for such court cases.
A domain renewal cost is minimal compared to the lawsuit.
Trevor says
Wow, I heard of this story long before I knew anything about domaining. I’m glad to see that justice finally prevailed.
Trevor says
I need to clarify that I initially misread the article. Years ago, someone told me a different version of the story, or perhaps I misinterpreted it myself, leading me to believe that Nissan had succeeded in stealing the domain. This misunderstanding colored my interpretation of the article.
Now, I understand that Uzi prevailed, which I’m relieved to see. It’s regrettable that the legal battle incurred significant costs for him. Nissan should have been obligated to reimburse him for his legal expenses.