Nissan vs Nissan Once again

[LeeRyder]

Becuase this issue affects us all personally, I think it's only right to once again post this issue (at least once a year for all the new people)

Mr. Uzi Nissan began a computer business in the early 80's while Nissan Motors USA was still only known as Datsun. Mr Nissan, owning a computer business, developed a website in the early 90's using the name www.Nissan.com. In the ensuing years, Nissan motors sued for the domain name and to this day, the domain is forbidden by court rulings to remain a non-business website, although it remains in Mr Nissans control.

for more information on this absurd case and to help mr Nissan with links, contacting the media and Nissan motors, please visit either www.Nissan.com or www.Digest.com

 

[wlspro]

Mr. Nissan asked for $15,000,000 for the domain name - is that fat enough for you

According to court paper filed by Mr. Nissan's counsel "testimony of Uzi Nissan ... pointed out that he refused to sell and finally named a price of $15 million, but said it in such a way that he would understand that I was not interested in selling to them at any price, even for that amount of money."

See http://www.digest.com/January_2004.php for details.

 

[GT Web]

he is a greedy idiot, I mean honestly, its not like he is doing anything with the domain now because of the rulings...

he thinks that standing up to Nissan and losing a few hundred grand is a smart call...lol

 

[P10n33R]

It is his domain, he can do what ever he wants with it and he can ask whatever he wants for it. If Nissan Motors wants it that bad they will buy it.

 

[Rikkers]

Overture shows

30488 nissan.com

Are all these people looking for a new car or a new computer do you think?

 

[incript]

they are mad.

 

[The Equivocate]

If it's his name, and he runs a legitimate business with it, then I don't see why he should give it up. Although if it's true that Nissan had changed their name before Mr. Nissan got the domain, it's not going to be so clear-cut, which I guess is why the whole dispute is still going on.

 

[wlspro]

According to his own website (digest.com) this guy was born in Israel and came to this country in 1976. According the USPTO Nissan Motors registered the trademark "Nissan" in in the US in 1959 and in Japan in 1955.

So the chronology is clear. 18 years before Mr. Nissan put foot on this country and 22 years before he started a business here Nissan Motors had registered the trademark "Nissan". All this talk about Datsun is irrelevant.

US trademark laws are clear in this regard. Use of a famous trademark in commerce, even in unrelated fields, may be a violation of anti-dilution laws. Nissan is a famous mark and its use in even unrelated fields is prohibited.

This guy states on his own site that he was operating a business called "Nissan Foreign Car" in 1980 without any permission from Nissan. So the whole argument about now conducting business in a different field and not creating confusion is also a weak argument. He has acknowledged conduction business in the automotive field under the name “Nissan”.

One can argue about merits of current trademark laws but as it stands and as the courts have correctly applied them Mr. Nissan cannot use the domain name in connection with the offering of any products or services in commerce. Blame the laws and try to change them if you don't like them but don't blame Nissan for protecting its rights under US laws.

 

[lotsofissues]

Mr. Nissan edited his page one day in 1999:

http://web.archive.org/web/19991013140001/http://nissan.com/

He started advertising cartracker.com - Nissan moved in.

 

[Anthony]

Great, so he still has his domain name, but what's the point? He's just using it to post this:

In compliance with a ruling issued by the United States District Court
in Los Angeles on November 14, 2002, in the lawsuit of
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. v. Nissan Computer Corporation,
this web site has been converted to non-commercial use.

 

[GT Web]

Right Anothny, instead of selling the name to Nissan Motor Corp for a large sum, he decided to sit on it and do nothing and spend thousands in legal fees. I dont feel sorry for this guy and I hope Nissan sues his ass off and gets the name...

 

[jberryhill]

If it's his name...

...then whether or not he can use his name in connection with a business is going to depend on what his name is, what his business is, who may or may not have prior rights in that name, and the fame of such a prior user.

In the United States, you *do not* have an absolute right to use even your own name in business as you see fit. I know that is going to bother some folks, but that is the way the law has been for a very long time.

If you are a chemist named DuPont, then, no, you can't start your own DuPont chemical company.... and insert my favorite story about Bully Hill Wine and the long-standing family feud in the Taylor wine family of New York here.

I have no particular feelings one way or the other for Mr. Nissan, but it is clear from the circumstances that this dispute would have been resolved long ago if the parties had simply come to an agreement on the size of the payday for Mr. Nissan. I do note that he solicits donations in order to pay the legal fees required to support this Mexican standoff, but I somehow doubt he will be paying dividends to those supporters when or if the parties eventually agree on a number.

But, yes, the guy sells a handful of models of screw-together computers locally in North Carolina. I can see how the entire world would become hopelessly lost if they couldn't find them at nissan.com.

Uzi.com is for sale. Perhaps he can switch to using his first name and sell machine guns.

The only opinion I do have is that my family had its first Datsun in 1972. It had "Nissan Motor Co., Ltd." all over the place.

Here is what Datsun service manuals, sold in the US, looked like:
http://www.datsun.org/roadster/literature/servicemanuals.html

The pictures are a little small, but anyone who thinks that the term "Nissan" was not being used in the United States long prior to 1980 is just factually wrong.

edit: Here's a clearer example:
http://www.datsun.org/roadster/literature/ownersmanual_1967.html

(hint: They didn't print the Japanese manuals in English)

 

[LeeRyder]

well, aside from the "people" that wish ill will on another person who has done nothing to them.. I think anyone who is named "nissan" or "Ford" or whatnot deserves the same amount of right to use his own name as he see's fit.

It's terrible when the govt decides in favor of a foreign corporation over a citizen or any corporation in something like this.

However that said, the Good will prosper as, again... Uzi told me he is about to regain use of the domain as he wishes... despite the ill will of uncooth opinions.

Glad to see Nissan Lost millions in this, score one for the little guy simply using his own name.

 

[GT Web]

Uzi has also lost tons of money in legal fees I am sure...

His stupidity is rather comical, I wish Nissan the best in getting a name back that is rightfully theirs.

 

[LeeRyder]

Well thankfully it appears the courts are siding with Uzi on this one and he is retaining the right to use his family name as he wishes.

God bless America

*points, laughs at Nissan*

 

[wlspro]

I am sure Mr. Nissan will get to use nissan.com commercially as soon as our Canadian friend AdsenseGuy (aka googlee bear) gets to use his domain name googleemail.com.

Based on Uzi's rosy predictions to LR it seems he has been talking to AG. His only viable option at this point is filing a complaint in a Canadian small claims court hoping for the same deputy judge AG got. He may even get a judgment for damages against Nissan.

By the way LR what makes you think "the courts are siding with Uzi"? Which court granted him the "right to use his family name as he wishes"? He was using it as he wished and the courts stopped him.

LR you write "It's terrible when the govt decides in favor of a foreign corporation over a citizen or any corporation in something like this."

Uzi started an automotive business named "Nissan Foreign Car" in the US without permission from Nissan - while he was still a non-US citizen. Even if he was a citizen are you advocating legitimate rights of foreign entities should be waived in favor of US citizens (even when their trademark has been registered at the US Patent and Trademark Office 18 years prior to this guy putting foot on this country)?

I doubt you would want foreign nations take the same stance and waive rights of US persons in their countries.

 

[armstrong]

No fighting in the classroom. If you must fight, take it outside Namepros.

 

[Mark]

Definitely a Strange case - without any background from above - I'd had to go with Uzi - But I can see where he was trying to use it "In bad Faith" now ...

It is a shame that the laws aren't more protective of our citizens though (Not Saying this case in particular) but I have seen some wipo decisions that just plain sucked / In favor of Large Corp's / Celebrities -

If it were me .... I would have settled out w/ Nissan Co. ... and Used the cash to build a different Company - But that's just me (Try not to stir up too much Dust as I Tread along)

 

[jberryhill]

I am sure Mr. Nissan will get to use nissan.com commercially as soon as our Canadian friend AdsenseGuy (aka googlee bear) gets to use his domain name googleemail.com.

Mr. Nissan is on firmer ground than that.

However...

Uzi told me he is about to regain use of the domain as he wishes...

I sincerely doubt that either Mr. Nissan or the Nissan auto people know in advance how the ninth circuit is going to rule. And when courts, real courts, issue opinions, it is not as if there is some magic inner circle of people who know about it.

 

[America First]

If i was given this case from Nissan, i would bankrupt Mr. Nissan, with a long drawn out public fight against this type of "CYBERSQUATTING", no matter how you look at this, he is in the wrong. He will not retain the rights to use this domain, he knew at the time he got the domain that he was squatting, i would say to the naysayers that think he is in his rights because of his last name, you are wrong, as stated by others already. I won a case over MLB over the name THEALLSTARGAME .com as they stated it was a "marked" name by MLB, but it was also known as common phrase, as in little league allstargame, NBA allstargame, and so on. The name NISSAN is a marked name which is a "World Wide" known name because of NISSAN MOTOR CORP. not because of Mr. Nissan
Im excepting any bets on this as i say Nissan will win the rights to their legal marked name, payment can be sent through paypal
PS. any settlement that Nissan might have offerd he should have taken, and with the fact that he said 15 million is what he would take is futher proof that he was squatting, once you ask for an amount of money it then turns the tables against you with what we would prove is "Bad Faith Intent"

 

[P10n33R]

His name in Mr. Nissan and he bought it before they did. I don't feel he is doing anything wrong at all. He owns it. He should be able to do anything he wants with it.

 

[Dave_Z]

His name in Mr. Nissan and he bought it before they did. I don't feel he is doing anything wrong at all. He owns it. He should be able to do anything he wants with it.

Ordinarily that's the case. But trademarks can take precedence
on this matter, depending on certain circumstances and, if it's
reached the UDRP or court stage, the presiding "judge" on the
case rules in favor of the trademark holder.

Based on the threads, if what wlspro said is true about Nissan
Motors having registered and subsequently obtained the TM for
"Nissan" way before Mr. Nissan set foot in the US, coupled with
the detail that Mr. Nissan engaged in a car business, this is one
time Nissan Motors has rights to the name.

If anything, it's Mr. Nissan's "honest" mistake (though I can't
really tell if it's honest) that he registered the domain name
before checking if a trademark has been issued for the word
itself.

Is the name that important to him that he'd spend so much
on legal costs?

 

[wlspro]

No need to take my word, I always provide a link to the source.

Nissan Motors registered "Nissan" on December 15, 1959 (source: USPTO)
http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=72053632

Mr. Nissan was born in Israel, came to the US in 1976 and started "Nissan Foreign Car" in 1980 (source: his own website)
http://digest.com/Big_Story.php

Mr. Nissan registered NISSAN.COM in 1994 and NISSAN.NET in 1996 (source: public whois)
http://www.whois.sc/nissan.com
http://www.whois.sc/nissan.net

 

[The Equivocate]

If my last name was Nike or Microsoft (lol), I wouldn't expect to be able to start a company called Nike's Shoes or Microsoft's Computer Shop.

 

[anthonyjdoe]

The whole thing is an ongoing process of big corps pushing around the little man. The first problem is Corporate America, too many corporations ahve their hands in the pockets of the governement giving them too much power and they are able to get away with these crimes against their fellow American. Nissan should be fined for not sending Mr. Nissan a fair offer for thr domain name and acting in haste wasting the courts time and money not too mention our tax money. Give the guy 10 million for the name and get it over with, not to mention that Nissan is foriegn comany and .com is an American extension. Nissan is a cheap bully.....I salute Mr. Nissan for his fight and hope he keeps it up till his death and passes the name onto his son to continue the fight against the corporations of America....

 

[Dave_Z]

Just thought I'd post an update on this thread:

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-...coll=la-headlines-business&ctrack=1&cset=true