The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) developer is on the brink of resolving its dispute with Manifold Finance over the ownership of the eth.link domain name, as its Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) has greenlit a $300,000 settlement with Manifold.
The ENS DAO concluded its vote on February 26, with an overwhelming 88% of voters approving the settlement. As per the agreement, ENS Labs will drop the lawsuit against Manifold and pay them $300,000, while retaining ownership of the domain name. Additionally, 84% of voters approved reimbursing ENS Labs with $750,000 for legal fees incurred during the dispute.
This settlement marks the conclusion of an 18-month-long saga, during which ENS Labs initiated legal action against Manifold and domain registrars GoDaddy and Dynadot in the Arizona District Court. The legal battle culminated in a court order blocking the transfer of domain ownership, which ultimately paved the way for the settlement agreement.
According to ENS founder Nick Johnson, the terms of the settlement require ENS Labs to pay $300,000 to Manifold, along with confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses. In return, the lawsuit will be dismissed, and ENS Labs will retain ownership of the eth.link domain name.
The eth.link domain, integral to ENS as the blockchain equivalent of the Domain Name System (DNS), faced uncertainty when ownership expired in July 2022. Following the expiration, Manifold acquired the domain in an auction on Dynadot after it was allowed to lapse by GoDaddy, the registrar.
Legal proceedings ensued, leading to a court order in July 2023 compelling Dynadot to unlock eth.link, thereby enabling ENS to regain ownership. In a recent development, ENS and GoDaddy have reconciled their differences, as evidenced by their collaboration to offer .eth ENS domain holders the option to link them with traditional domain names at no cost.
