Some of you may be aware of this issue. It's something I learned of a while back and this recent sabre rattling that Honda has done with Trevor our beloved sponsor www.honda-accessories.com (the keeper of the brake pads... ) made me recall this case.

Check out www.nissan.com ... Nissan is suing this guy who runs NIssan Computer Systems for copyright infringement. It's one of the most shameful cases of coporate bullying that I have ever seen. Read this article, which is linked from the Nissan Computer site...
http://www.ncchelp.org/The_Story/the_story.htm

Anyway, I find it fascinating. Read it for yourself...would love to know what you guys and gals think...

 

Similar honda article... http://www.wirednews.com/news/business/0,1...7,34546,00.html

"Schreiber said he was considering trading his current model, a two-seater Honda Prelude, for a new Honda sports car. Now he's not sure."

 

I personally think it's wrong for a big corp. to bully the little guy. His intention was nowhere close to riding the skirt tails of a well known company. Especialy considering its his last name. If Nissan wanted the domain name they should have thought about it sooner unless they were too busy fighting off bankruptcy Now If he named his company Nisson and made a vrtual copy of the Maximo and sold it then there "might be a problem" I for one have had to use lawyers many times and do respect the profession, but throwing ones weight around is just bad PR and shame on them.
"Thats just my opinion, I could be wrong"

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by gregstevens:
[B]It's one of the most shameful cases of coporate bullying that I have ever seen.

 

That's true, Driveway, but Nissan Computer Systems isn't even in the automotive industry. He's not represnting Nissan Motor Corp and has not represented himself as such. He's an independent business person who registered his business' domain name. If Nissan Motor Corp wanted that domain, they should have gotten it before he did. It's pretty plain and simple to me. They snooze, they lose.

Now, they are claiming trademark infringement...no way. I'm not an attorney (thanks God!), but were Mr. Nissan misrepresenting NMC's products or name or anything else related to NMC, then NMC would have a case. What should the verdict be? That Mr. Nissan should change his name because someone already owns it?

I still side with Mr. Nissan...

 

It has a lot to do with how you view the web and are domain names part of the advertisement/trademark that companies and consumers are seeking.

We all expect to get to a particular web site when we type ford.com, gm.com, ibm.com, etc. That is because at a global level those names respresent trademarks that as consumers we are familiar with. Now at the local level, you can have Ford computer, or IBM cleaning, etc. but the web is global and hence the trademark problems.

Again getting there first has nothing to do with the trademark infringement. Nissan in all probabliity (I don't know for sure) has the name "Nissan" trademarked. Mr. Nissan in all probability does not. Sticky situations yes...certainly one for the lawyers.

Personaly as I said I'd like to type nissan.com and get to a car site.

 

I think that if the automobile company wants the domain they should buy it from the owner. I back Mr. Nissan completely.

 

This is a tough issue...one anti-PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the most ridiculous group I've ever seen, but that's another thing) organization bought the domain name peta.org, and on that site it was completely anti-PETA. They were forced to sell the domain name to the real PETA, if that's any precedent.

 

I agree. Nissan Motor Corp should either buy the domain name or choose another. Others have managed to do this:

You can check out airline flights at http://www.delta.com but you have to go to http://www.deltafaucet.com to buy some plumbing fixtures.

You can check out financial accounting software at http://www.dodge.com but you have to go to http://www.4adodge.com to look at new trucks.

 

This is a REALLY old thread, but I am reviving it Mostly because I think that it sets to dangerous a precedent if Nissan wins and it should not be forgotten. I am not a lawyer so I cannot say if trademarks apply here but the cybersquatting law does and the courts decided that Mr Nissan was not cybersquatting. The recent Victorias Secret case severly hurt NMC chances at winning the case.

I would be the first person to agree that cybersquatting is reprehensible, but come on, it is the mans name, used in business' of his for years, why should NMC have any more claim to it than he does. If they wanted it badly enough, they should have just paid him for it. From a financial standpoint it would have made more sense to pay him the $15 million, and I think he probably would have taken it, then to have had it drag out and have their reputation suffer as a result of it.

NMC could have taken a lesson from Exxon after the Valdez incident. Exxon was not by any stretch of the imagination the only responsible party, but they had deep pockets so they made the easiest target. Exxon spent over a billion dollars on the cleanup, they knew that the only way to salvage what was left of their reputation was to spend what they did.

By the way I know that it was an ecological disater, but anyone that drives a fossil fuel vehicle does not have much right to preach about environmental impact, but I digress.

Any chance that NMC had at settling this case I suspect is now gone, it appears that several organizations have come to the assistance of Mr Nissan dramaticlly leveling the money/legal playing field.