Am I having deja-vous, or did this already happen a long time ago?
But for what it's worth, I don't get it either. The Volvo BMW is a good example.... and THEY can still be friends. Why can't Nissan and Audi play nice? 

S60, S40
S500 from Merc
C60 from Volvo
C240 from Merc
BMW 323
Mazda 323
many examples..of strategic alliance to save cost, shared platform, shared parts, shared plants, share marketing !! it is plain stupid to consume capital in legal battle. Companies should differentiate on product not on their legal ability. Hate to see Nissan and Audi to continue spend money on this, and hence inflate end user's cost.
I never had Datsun or Nissan, always wanted one, would want to try one. Now that i read Nissan.com story.. No nissan for me..the history proves that Mr. Nissan was there first. Exhausting capital/public resources/money - benefiting the legal process and professions (nothing against lawyers) but when thousands of people are starving IMHO is not acceptable. What is acceptable is to pay off/acquire the piece of property (in this case Nissan.com) for a reasonable price is acceptable. Demanding a 10M payment is ridicoulous.