ENS Labs and Manifold Finance seem closer and closer to solving the dispute related to the eth.link domain, as ENS Labs has announced that Manifold Finance has proposed a $300,000 settlement to end the legal battle.
This proposal, made on February 13, includes terms for confidentiality and an agreement to refrain from making disparaging comments.
Story Behind
Virgil Griffith registered eth.link for use as a resolving service for .eth domain names. .Eth domains are based on the blockchain, and major web browsers don’t resolve them. Griffith’s solution was to make any third level domain under eth.link forward to the corresponding blockchain website. So if you wanted to visit example.eth, you could type example.eth.link into your browser.
But Griffith’s imprisonment for assisting North Korea in evading sanctions led to the expiration of the eth.link domain.
As with most domain registrations, the domain went into an expired domain auction. Due to some of the complexities between GoDaddy and Uni (the registry, not the registrar), the registry that previously controlled .link, GoDaddy didn’t auction the domain on its own service. Instead, the domain was auctioned at Dynadot due to a pre-existing deal with the registrar for $852,000.
A temporary solution came from a federal district court in Phoenix, Arizona, with a preliminary injunction mandating the domain’s return to ENS Labs. Nonetheless, the wider legal confrontation persists, bringing significant financial and strategic consequences for all involved.
With legal costs nearing $750,000, ENS Labs is consulting its DAO on the next steps. The settlement has ignited debate among the ENS community, with opinions split on whether to settle to cut further legal costs and secure the domain, or fight on to protect the community’s interests and establish a precedent.
The community is also deliberating a vote to compensate ENS Labs for the substantial legal expenses incurred, highlighting the financial strain of such disputes on blockchain organizations and the need for strong dispute resolution strategies and community backing.
