The parent company of the Ethereum Name Service (ENS), True Names Ltd., has stated that they have regained ownership of eth.link. Previously, ENS lost the ownership of the domain name to a third party. The website runs all the web addresses ending with .eth. All of these are used by the widespread Ethereum community.
Up until August 17, ENS had about two million registered domain names. Moreover, eth.link helped used to reach .eth addresses even if their internet browsers were not enabled for web3. However, the renowned web hosting company, GoDaddy, earlier announced that the eth.link has expired. Furthermore, GoDaddy also sold the domain to a third party.
Earlier this month, True Names Ltd. sued GoDaddy and accused the platform of expiring the domain registration of eth.link illegally. The complaint further stated that GoDaddy sold the domain registration to a third party but it was meant to be up for repurchasing. The company claimed that GoDaddy breached the domain registration contract.
The complaint against GoDaddy was registered in the District of Arizona. It said that domain registration for the eth.link was set to expire on July 26, 2023. However, GoDaddy falsely announced its expiration on July 26, 2022. As per the filed complaint, the domain was bought by Dynadot who then sold it to Manifold Finance on September 3. It was bought two days before it was meant to go on sale.
Ethereum Name Services Announces eth.link is Back Online
Earlier today, ENS announced that its injunction was successful, and the eth.link is live again. Since the domain has been returned to ENS, users can continue to use its services. True Names Ltd. further asked for damages of up to $75K excluding the legal costs. It also asked for a temporary restraining order against GoDaddy.
We're delighted to report that https://t.co/FjEunMklB9 is now back online! Our injunction was successful and the name has been returned to us.
Users are welcome to resume using the service – or keep using the excellent community-run alternative, https://t.co/RtCIwR276i.
— ens.eth (@ensdomains) September 19, 2022
On the other hand, the founder of Manifold Finance, Sam Bacha said that the case has not been settled. Bacha said,
“DNS Services were restored to ensure the domain value remains. DNS is still held in escrow per the injunction and has not been transferred to True Names. Once the court opens in the morning more information will be available after the court opens.”
In reply, ENS founder Nick Johnson said,
“The eth.link domain has been returned to us fully pending the outcome of the court case. Should the case not be pursued the return would effectively be permanent.”
Nonetheless, the eth.link is currently live and users can access it without any disruption. It is yet to be seen if the case is further pursued by GoDaddy or other stakeholders in the coming days. If it happens, it might be the start of another legal battle between the two companies.
