Chapter 7: Legal, Ethic, and Tax Issues

C1. Nissan.com

1. U. S. courts sometimes appoint advisors ( often called Special Masters) to help them decide cases that involve complex business or technical issues. Assume you are a business advisor to a court that is hearing an appeal of the Nissan Motor Co. v. Nissan Computer Corp. case. In about 200 words, explain why Nissan Motor Co. is so concerned about the use of these two domain names and how a monetary damages judgment of $ 10 million could be justified ( if you do not believe that the monetary damages are justified, explain why).

The concern that Nissan Motor Co. has in terms of the two domain names is the association their company will have due to the use of the “Nissan” name. Since Nissan Motor Co. was established before Uzi Nissan’s company, “Nissan” can be considered their trade name. Therefore, when people see or hear of “Nissan,” they think of Nissan Motor Co. and its products such as their vehicles. Having this name registered under a different company can confuse customers wanting more information on Nissan Motor Co. and perhaps veer prospective buyers away from the Nissan Motor Co. products. This confusion could result in profit losses. Considering the amount of years that Nissan Motor Co. had already established their name, the worth of their products, and then the years that Uzi Nissan registered the two domains for, Nissan Motor Co. potentially had a profit loss of 6 years. I believe that would justify the $10 million dollar suit.      

2. In about 200 words, provide an outline of the ethics of the position taken by Uzi Nissan in this dispute.

Uzi Nissan ethically registered the two domain names under his family name, which would be considered a “basic right.” He also sold products, which had no relevance to Nissan Motor Company. The products he sold were computer related, which was entirely different to that of Nissan Motor Co. vehicle products.  With that in mind, he had no intentions of associating the domains to Nissan Motor Company only to his family name nor did he want to persuade sales since his products had no relation or mention of Nissan Motor Company.  

3. In about 200 words, provide an outline of the ethics of the position taken by Nissan Motor Co. in this dispute.

Nissan Motor Co.  changed their brand name before Uzi Nissan established his company thus branding the “Nissan” name for their products. Their vehicle products gain popularity in the U.S.  making it a well-known brand name. In order to secure their brand, Nissan Motor Company’s lawyer sent a letter to Uzi Nissan to notify him of the misuse of their brand name. However, Uzi Nissan took the notice lightly and did not reply nor make any changes. Uzi Nissan’s negligence led Nissan Motor Co. to believe his use of the two domain names were for cybersquatting.  

4. If you believe that the courts’ decisions in this case are fair to the parties and the general public, explain why in about 200 words. If you believe that the courts’ decisions are not fair, outline a decision ( in about 200 words) that you believe would be fair.

“Cybersquatting is the practice of registering a domain name that is the trademark of another person or company in the hopes that the owner will pay huge amounts of money to acquire the URL.” However, in this case, Uzi Nissan had no intention of selling the domain names to Nissan Motor Company. He sincerely registered the domains because he was only using his family name. However, under common law, Nissan Motor Company had trade name rights. Since Nissan was established before Uzi Nissan’s company, the name “Nissan” identified Nissan Motor Co. first. With both parties acting under ethical terms, I believe the court’s decision was fair. It eliminated the confusion concerns of Nissan Motor Co., but was also considerate towards Uzi Nissan’s company since he registered the domains without harmful intent. I think favoring one company over the other in this case would contradict ethical approaches, thus making this the best decision.