When I see the term “finsure,” my immediate thought is that it is a portmanteau of the terms finance or financial and insurance or insure. I suspect that is why Finsure.com sold for $9,750 in 2023 via NameJet expiry auction, according to NameBio.
A company called Finsure, which was founded in 2021, uses the Finsure.us Finsure.one domain name for its business (update: this was my error, but it shows there are numerous companies that use Finsure in branding). This company filed a UDRP against the Finsure.com domain name at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). According to DomainLeads, there are 46 “Finsure” TLDs registered and 10 of them are developed. This does not include several hundred other domain names that contain “finsure.” In short, it’s a pretty common compound word and not limited to one single company.
The UDRP decision was published this morning. Not only did the domain registrant prevail in this UDRP, but the three member panel also found it was an instance of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking (RDNH). Specifically, the panel found it was a “Plan B” filing whereby a company fails to purchase a domain name and files the UDRP as its “Plan B.”
Notably, the panel discussed the fact that a portmanteau like finsure “may possess inherent value and commercial appeal independent of any specific trademark significance.” This should be noted by domain investors who own domain names that contain similar brandable terms.
Here’s an excerpt from the decision with the RDNH discussion that I think is also important:
“Based on the facts, the Panel is of the view that the Complainant attempted to purchase the disputed domain name from the Respondent as it was fully aware that it could not succeed as to the bad faith element required to succeed in a UDRP proceeding and only filed the Complaint when it judged the negotiations to be unsuccessful.”
The three panelists who oversaw the UDRP were Kathryn Lee, Nathalie Dreyfus, and Andrew D. S. Lothian. The complainant was represented by Venable, LLP, and the domain registrant was internally represented.
it was actually finsure.one that filed the udrp
Sorry – my mistake. Thanks for pointing that out.