> But the parent seems to be asking for a general example of what would happen in such a dispute

Actually my question (I'm parent) is also on the technical level, since I'm pessimistically assuming the lawyers will win everytime.

If Sandra renames her package (voluntarily or not) - will the old versions with contested name resolve correctly stickman v0.99? Or will they be gone forever? Will Stick Corp inherit management of the old versions? Is it a good idea? Who will manage point-release vulnerability upgrade - Sandra or Stick Corp? etc. There are a lot of questions relating to the original quagmire that NPM Inc is not answering.