Nissan Computer Corporation
Uzi Nissan | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 18, 1951 |
| Died | July 17, 2020 (aged 68) |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Known for | Founder of Nissan Computer Corporation, involved in Nissan Motors v. Nissan Computer legal case |
Nissan Motors v. Nissan Computer involved an extended legal battle concerning the rights to the name Nissan and ownership of the domain nissan.com, drawing widespread attention across the United States.
Nissan Motor Company
During the late 1970s, Datsun began incorporating "Nissan" and "Datsun by Nissan" emblems on its vehicles, eventually converting approximately 1,100 Datsun dealerships under the Nissan brand. In 1981, Datsun declared a name change for the U.S. market, completing the transition between 1982 and 1986 with marketing slogans evolving from "Datsun, We Are Driven!" to "The Name is Nissan." Nevertheless, in some export regions, dual branding persisted for several years, with Datsun maintaining stronger brand recognition than Nissan.
Uzi Nissan
Uzi Nissan (born August 18, 1951) launched Nissan Foreign Car, an automotive service provider based in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1980. He later founded Nissan International, Ltd in 1987, focusing on import/export operations involving heavy machinery and computer equipment. On May 14, 1991, he created Nissan Computer Corporation, a company dedicated to selling and servicing personal computers, servers, components, and offering internet hosting services. The domain name nissan.com was registered by Nissan Computer on June 4, 1994—five years prior to Nissan Motor Corporation’s interest in acquiring it.
Uzi Nissan passed away on July 17, 2020, due to complications from COVID-19. Following his death, unauthorized individuals took control of his domains; these were eventually recovered.
Case
Nissan Motors argued that Nissan Computer’s use of the name led to trademark dilution and accused them of cybersquatting to obtain the domain nissan.com. However, the company’s name derived from its founder Uzi Nissan. After the dispute concluded, Nissan Motors adopted the domain nissanusa.com for its website serving the U.S. market.