[Random-bits] Uzi Nissan, Nissan Computer Corporation and Nissan Mortor Company

[James Love]

http://www.ncchelp.org/

 Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.
         Versus
 Nissan Computer Corporation
     

	"My name is Uzi Nissan.  I was born August 18, 1951, in Jerusalem,
Israel.  My father's last name was Nissan; his father's last name was
Nissan, and so on.  Nissan is a biblical term originally identifying the
first month in the Hebrew calendar, and is the contemporary name for the
seventh month in the Hebrew calendar. The term Nissan also is Arabic for
the month of April. 

	I came to America from Israel on December 16, 1976, and have used my
surname for years to identify a number of business enterprises. The
first was "Nissan Foreign Car Mobile Repair Service" in 1980. 

	In December 1987, I started an import/export business known as "Nissan
International, Ltd. At that time, Nissan Motor was not well known as
Nissan, but primarily as "DATSUN".  As with the earlier business, I
chose to use Nissan in my business name because it was my last name. 

	On May 14, 1991, "Nissan Computer Corp. was incorporated in the state
of North Carolina. I was then, and still am, the company President.  I
have used Nissan as part of my trade name in connection with the sale of
computer hardware, computer maintenance, installation, networking,
computer training and other consulting services related to computers and
computer networks. 

	On June 4, 1994, we registered the domain name "nissan.com" with
InterNic (now Network Solutions) and created a web site to promote
computer related products and services on the Internet. 

	Nissan Motor has been aware  of our domain name and us since at least
July of 1995, when I received a letter from the auto maker's senior
legal counsel. The letter did not claim we were illegally using our
domain name nor their trade name, but expressed only "concern" by our
use of nissan.com. The letter requested further information in order to
evaluate our web site.  I chose not to respond because I believed it was
clear we were a computer company and that there was no conflict. Nissan
Motor's lawyer never contacted me again, confirming my belief that they
had no valid concern about me.

	In July of 1995, I obtained a service mark registration for Nissan and
my logo from the State of North Carolina. 
          
	On March 17, 1996, I registered the domain name nissan.net, and began
offering Internet services, including dial-up connections and direct
data connections to business.

	Almost four years later, legal action was instituted by Nissan Motor
seeking to restrain me from the use of my family name for business
purposes on the Internet.


-- 
James Love  mailto:love@cptech.org http://www.cptech.org
Consumer Project on Technology, P.O. Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036
voice 1.202.387.8030  fax  1.202.234.5176