The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) finally regained control of the eth.link domain name and won a court order in a lawsuit against GoDaddy.

On Sunday came the announcement that ENS had won from the domain provider.

The lawsuit

Earlier this month, GoDaddy, Daynadot, and Manifold Finance filed a lawsuit against GoDaddy, Daynadot, and Manifold Finance.

The lawsuit came after GoDaddy transferred the eth.link name to the Dynadot domain name registrar before its expiration date.

They also auctioned off the name in what ENS called a “breach of contract,” violating an agreement to recognize, protect, and respect the name eth.link.

ENS

The Ethereum Name Service uses the eth.link domain to connect .eth names to DNS, or the Domain Name System, which connects web browsers to websites.

The service allows .eth domain users to create self-visible websites with ENS names, making them accessible from a standard browser.

The eth.link loss of access to the ENS and its users’ interrupted service

However, the crisis was resolved.

Injunction

The United States District Judge in charge of the case granted the request for an ENS injunction.

They also ordered the return of the name eth.link and the restoration of the EthLink services.

“Our injunction was successful and the name has been returned to us,” ENS shared on Twitter Sunday night.

Domain name purchase

According to Domain Name Wire, Manifold Finance had previously purchased the eth.link domain name from DynaDot for $851,919.

Manifold co-founder Sam Bacha shared in a closed thread on the ENS forums why the company “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 repurchase the domain name from Manifold.

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