Turkish Insurance Group's Attempt to Reverse Hijack TurkiyeSigorta.com Rejected

Recently, Turkish insurance company Türkiye Varlik Fonu A.Ş. filed a dispute against the domain name TurkiyeSigorta.com, which was ultimately determined to be a reverse domain name hijacking (RDNH).

The case hinges on timelines. The disputed domain was registered on January 27, 2017, while the complainant's trademark, TÜRKİYE SİGORTA, was not registered until April 13, 2020. This means the domain name was registered three years before the trademark. During their review, the arbitrator noted that the complainant's claim that the domain name was registered before the trademark, while insisting that the domain name was clearly infringing at the time of registration, is a self-contradictory logic.

Furthermore, the complainant claimed that its insurance company's history dates back to 1957, but its official website states that the current "Türkiye Sigorta A.Ş." brand was established in 2020 through the merger of several companies, contradicting its complaint.

The case also involved confusion regarding internationalized domain names (IDNs). The complainant claimed that someone on WhatsApp was using türkiyesigorta.com (with the letter "ü") to impersonate their official identity, which could easily lead to confusion. However, the arbitrators concluded that this did not prove malicious intent against the TurkiyeSigorta.com domain name holder.

Ultimately, arbitrator Mehmet Polat Kalafatoğlu ruled that the complainant's claim lacked merit and constituted reverse domain hijacking. The case was dismissed, and the domain remains with the current owner.

Source: Domain Name Wire