One of the most interesting domain name-related stories of all time is the saga of Nissan.com, a domain name that has long been owned by a man named Uzi Nissan and his company, Nissan Computer Corporation. Nissan.com has been coveted by the Nissan automotive brand, and that led to long running court battles over the Nissan.com domain name. Uzi Nissan prevailed, and he was able to retain ownership of Nissan.com despite his battle with the deep pocketed automaker.
Sadly, according to an article on the popular Jalopnik website, Mr. Nissan “has passed away from Covid-19 complications this month.” A brief obituary was also published on DignityMemorial.com.
Uzi Nissan, internet domain owner who fought Nissan in court for a decade, has died of COVID-19https://t.co/jBqtMPSQP8 pic.twitter.com/HmewZMkNAR
— Jalopnik (@Jalopnik) July 29, 2020
When I tried to visit Nissan.com this morning, the domain name was not resolving. Hopefully, this is a temporary issue. The website previously shared details about the legal battle involving Mr. Nissan and his Nissan.com domain name. You can have a look at the cached Google page or have a look at Archive.org to learn more about the domain name’s history and the legal fight Mr. Nissan endured to retain the domain name. Alan Dunn also shared a thorough recap of the story of Nissan.com.
On July 18th, a GoFundMe was set up to benefit Uzi Nissan’s family. It has raised a little more than $15,000 of its $50,000 fundraising goal. I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention the GoFundMe for the family of domain investor Ron Wells, as Ron is currently recovering from his own battle with Covid-19.
My condolences to the family of Mr. Nissan.
The car company NIssan is a disgusrting operation. They should have approached Mr. Nissan with an offer based on what the domain would bring to them, rather than an bully the domain from him. Typical in the world today, bullying tactics now much more common.
Very sad news! I became friends with Uzi through the years and had a few meals with him during some local domain gatherings. He was a very smart business man who stood on his principles and fought on behalf of the domain industry without even realizing it. He was a True Mensch!
Its a very sad news 🙁
All that fighting for the domain and now Nissan will get it. I doubt his family will keep up the fight. This virus is taking such a huge toll on the world.