The Long War Over Nissan.com and the Battle for Digital Identity

Few domain disputes in internet history have been as long-lasting, contentious, and emblematic of corporate overreach as Nissan Motors’ decades-long attempt to wrest control of Nissan.com from a small computer company owner named Uzi Nissan. What began in the early 1990s as a simple business decision by an entrepreneur turned into a legal saga that spanned decades, capturing the attention of digital rights advocates, legal scholars, and branding professionals worldwide.

Uzi Nissan, an Israeli-American businessman, founded his company Nissan Computer Corporation in 1991. The company provided computer repair, networking services, and later, internet access and hosting. As part of establishing his brand and online presence, Uzi registered the domain name Nissan.com in 1994, when the internet was still a digital frontier with few clear rules or expectations around domain ownership. Uzi had every right to the name; it was his legal surname, and the domain was registered for legitimate business purposes unrelated to automobiles.

At the time, Nissan Motor Company—a multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Japan—was still using the domain NissanMotors.com and had not yet made a serious investment in online branding. For years, the two entities coexisted without issue. But as the internet grew into a crucial platform for commerce and branding, Nissan Motors realized it needed a cleaner, more recognizable domain to match its global stature. That led the company to approach Uzi Nissan with offers to purchase the domain.

Uzi refused. He saw the domain as part of his identity and business, not simply a commodity to be sold. His company, Nissan Computer Corporation, continued operating Nissan.com, primarily offering tech services and a few pages critical of the automaker’s legal tactics once the battle escalated. What followed was a protracted and aggressive legal campaign by Nissan Motors to gain control of the domain—despite Uzi’s prior registration, established business use, and personal rights to the name.

In 1999, Nissan Motors filed a lawsuit against Nissan Computer, alleging trademark infringement, cybersquatting, and dilution. The lawsuit sought $10 million in damages and demanded that the domain be transferred. But unlike many early domain cases where large corporations steamrolled small registrants into submission, Uzi fought back. He argued that he had registered the domain in good faith, had a legitimate business, and had never misrepresented himself as affiliated with the car company.

The legal battle dragged on for years. Uzi Nissan was forced to pour vast sums of money and time into defending his right to the domain. Nissan Motors, with deep corporate pockets and an aggressive legal team, tried numerous strategies to take control of the domain, including trying to limit the types of ads that could appear on the site and accusing Uzi of tarnishing the Nissan trademark by criticizing the company publicly on his website.

Despite the pressure, Uzi won several key legal victories. In 2002, a federal court ruled that Uzi Nissan had not violated the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act because he had a legitimate interest in the name and had registered it before Nissan Motors had trademarked it in the U.S. in connection with internet services. However, the court also limited Uzi’s ability to profit from advertisements on the site related to cars, citing potential consumer confusion.

In essence, the court ruled that both parties had some legitimacy in their claims—but crucially, Uzi got to keep the domain. Still, the restrictions imposed meant Nissan.com could not carry ads related to the automotive sector, greatly limiting its potential revenue. For Uzi, the fight was about more than just domain traffic or ad dollars. It became a personal mission to defend the principle that a private individual, acting in good faith, should not be bullied out of his digital identity by a multinational corporation.

Over time, Nissan Motors opted to redirect its online presence to NissanUSA.com in the U.S. and various country-specific domains abroad. Despite having more resources, broader market reach, and global brand recognition, the company never managed to acquire Nissan.com. Meanwhile, Uzi Nissan maintained control of the domain, even as the battle took a toll on his business and personal life.

The saga took a somber turn in 2020 when Uzi Nissan passed away due to complications from COVID-19. His family continued to own the domain, and as of the years following his death, the site stood as both a legacy of his personal resilience and a symbol of the complex intersection of trademark law, domain ownership, and individual rights in the digital age.

The Nissan.com battle remains a landmark case in the annals of internet law. It underscores how early domain registrants were often blindsided by the growing importance of digital real estate and how large corporations, belatedly realizing the value of domain names, sometimes attempted to reclaim them through legal attrition. It also illustrates how a single person, armed with principle and persistence, can resist—even if imperfectly—the pressures of a multinational corporation seeking to erase a smaller brand for the sake of convenience and control.

Few domain disputes in internet history have been as long-lasting, contentious, and emblematic of corporate overreach as Nissan Motors’ decades-long attempt to wrest control of Nissan.com from a small computer company owner named Uzi Nissan. What began in the early 1990s as a simple business decision by an entrepreneur turned into a legal saga that…