Image source: Coin Desk
In a lawsuit against GoDaddy, the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) eventually claimed control of the eth.link domain name and won a court order.
On Sunday, the news came that ENS had won the domain provider.
Ethereum Name Service’s lawsuit
Earlier this month, True Names Ltd., the parent company of ENS, and the previous owner of eth.link, Virgil Griffith, filed a lawsuit against GoDaddy, Dynadot, and Manifold Finance.
The lawsuit came after GoDaddy transferred the eth.link domain name to the Dynadot domain name registrar before the expiration date.
They also sold the name at auction, in what ENS called a “breach of contract,” in violation of an agreement to recognize, protect, and respect the eth.link name.
Read also: GTA 6 development leak prompts statement from Rockstar Games
ENS
The Ethereum naming service uses the eth.link domain to connect .eth names to DNS, or the domain naming system that connects web browsers to websites.
The service allows users of .eth domains to create self-displaying websites with ENS names, accessible through a standard browser.
The loss of eth.link’s access to ENS meant disruption of service to its users.
However, the crisis was resolved.
Injunction
The U.S. District Judge assigned to the case granted ENS’s request for an injunction.
They also ordered the return of the eth.link name and the restoration of EthLink services.
“Our injunction was successful and the name has been returned to us,” ENS shared on Twitter Sunday evening.
Read also: Quartz receives backlash from fans, Ubisoft claims it’s only in research mode
Purchase of the domain name
According to Domain Name Wire, Manifold Finance had previously purchased the eth.link domain name from DynaDot for $ 851,919.
In a closed thread on the ENS forums, Manifold co-founder Sam Bacha explained why the company had “sniped” the name.
“We wanted the domain name because we had intentions of establishing a special purpose trust to provide the legal entity for which key pieces of some of our own infrastructure could have been held,” he explained.
Bacha suggested that ENS could purchase Manifold’s domain name.
True Names Executive Director Khori Whittaker rejected the idea.
“By court order, the eth.link domain does not belong to Manifold Finance, and it has no current right to sell the domain,” said Whittaker.
ENS lead developer nick.eth previously said he was disappointed and misled by GoDaddy’s actions.
Reference:
Ethereum Name Service regains control of EthLink domain in lawsuit against GoDaddy
