Many in the business know the story of Nissan.com, the large multinational car company wanted Nissan.com from it’s owner Uzi Nissan.
Jalopnik.com wrote an excellent piece on the history of the dispute and how it affected the life of Uzi Nissan. The story is food for thought if you could or would take on a large multinational over a domain name. Of course people love to comment, “F them” or “I will do whatever it takes.” Even though Uzi prevailed in the legal realm it cost him quite a lot. It was really a pyrrhic victory for Uzi Nissan.
You always to ask yourself, “Is the juice worth the squeeze?”
From the article:
A Weary Victory
The legal battle ultimately took eight years, and, according to Uzi, had cost him and his family nearly $3 million. It’s no surprise that he feels like he never quite prevailed.
“Who the hell wants to buy a computer from a company that’s in a lawsuit with a giant like Nissan Motor?” he said. “I would have let it go first day if I knew what I would have to go through, and what it would do to me and my family,” Uzi told Jalopnik. “I was driven 99.9 percent out of business.”
That sucks for uzi, he probably should have sold to them back in the day.
I doubt it. The article mentions that he indirectly quoted an amount of $15 million in his comment to Merrill Davis. I believe that resulted in the lawsuit being filed against him. If Nissan want to buy they could have negotiated then.
I read the article. How about:
He should sue them for abuse of process to recover damages for what they put him through, both compensatory and punitive? (If it’s not too late, that is.)
Oh I agree it’s disgraceful what he had to put up with.
Seems like not only perhaps the only answer, but also a viable route if he is still within the SOL (statute of limitations): https : // www . google . com/search?q=abuse+of+process
I agree with John. With all he has gone through he should file for mental harassment, loss of business, trauma and other personal losses. This lawsuit had minimal impact to Nissan. They need to be penalised for endless pursuit resulting in several losses to an individual. It is only fair they compensate
I could imagine that he has little appetite in paying even more in legal fees. Nissan can probably drag this out.
Contingency arrangement?
i am very happy for him that at last he won the case.
big companies who oppresses people by money power will definitely get a roadblock.
at least Mr Uzi can now die in peace and with satisfaction. This is the most imp thing.
There is only one life. Either you live it by fear as most 99.99 % human beings do and die as a slave or like Mr Uzi , fight for your rights and justice and be at peace.
All those problems and business losses are part of a successful journey. Else life is not worth.
I salute him. God will give him the fruitful results of his sufferings and pain.
Shoulda woulda coulda.
The sad part is and it may not happen but the moment this guy does his heirs will just turn around and sell the name, cashing in. No different then the last generations kids who are in a me generation, living in excess and selling off what their parents worked for because mommy wants a new Mercedes….not a Nissan!
Wow – what a wild story.
Did Nissan the car company ever offer Nissan (the gentleman) a decent amount (7 figures) for the domain?
What would Ford (the car company) have done if someone named Ford registered Ford.com and set up an online book store, for example?
I do feel sorry for Uzi and his family — complete nightmare scenario.
Uzi also owns Nissan.net. He should have maybe let it go and reverted to the .net or the other way round, rather than have to deal with all the problems and stress
Uzi owns Digest.com too.
It seems like in the end the entire case hinged on trademark infringement. As soon as Nissan the car company registered Nissancomputers.com and offered it to him as trade for Nissan.com they ultimately agreed without actually knowing it that they had no problem with him infringing on the Nissan trademark. They basically put the nails in their own coffin. Probably would have easily won the case if it wasn’t for that one fuck up.
Good point, shows how petty they were, he didn’t register nissancars.com, it was his own surname
I don’t know why people can’t read, Nissan simply wnated a number so they could bait him into bad faith, it got personal, was never about money, simply the will of a giant to crush the litttle guy.
He gave them a number. 15 million
He should not have done that. He should have just held out and said he does not really want to sell. If they wanted to buy him out, they should be the first ones to make an offer.
“Is the juice worth the squeeze?” (good one liner) My wife’s divorce attorney thoughts so !!
Just like in a marriage, if the guy wins, he still loses.
To be honest, I really felt bad for this guy because I too had a domain name go to UDRP.
But even though I won, I still sold it to them and made more money then the name was actually worth.
Something tells me this guy knew exactly what he was doing when he made the $15 million dollar demand.
He gave them the ball park figure and they did not bite.
I believe if he had said $1,000.000 (which meant more 18 years ago then it does today), they would have gone for it or at least negotiated.
Now he is scared to use the domain name and no one will even by it.
Yes. It might have been easier to just sell. But easy doesn’t necessarily mean right. I hate bullies. I am glad he stood up for what was right against all odds. How many people can lay claim to that?
@albert
I believe you’re correct.
When the number “15 million USD” was stated, whether in candor or strategy, any deal was hindered.
The question remains: Did Nissan the car company put any number on the table, in addition to providing the domain (nissancomputer.com ?– which really is meaningless, other than defeating the trademark dilution argument)
The real irony is that Nissan / Datsun owned one of only 3 single letter .coms – z.com… which the sold in 2015, likely for far more than Uzi ever wanted for the Nissan domain