The operators of the ultra-premium domain name, Refinance.com, have applied for a federal trademark registration at the USPTO.
Registered in 1998, the domain Refinance.com was listed as sold in 2005, in a private transaction reported at $706,000 dollars. Source: NameBio.
Refinance.com has been under privacy WHOIS for more than a decade and as recently as in 2020 it was “under construction” per Archive.org.
The trademark application was filed in November 2020 by NYC based BBB Group LLC – DBA Refinance.com with an “intent to use” clause, indicating that no prior use is claimed at the time of the filing.
The application is for REFINANCE.COM and for the following services:
IC 016. US 002 005 022 023 029 037 038 050. G & S: Newsletters, brochures, and magazines in the fields of financial and monetary affairs
IC 035. US 100 101 102. G & S: Business advice and information relating to loans, finance and capital; Matching borrowers with potential lenders in the field of mortgage lending; Matching borrowers with potential lenders in the field of consumer and mortgage lending; Membership club services providing discounts to members on real estate commissions and mortgage fees; Providing sales leads for the automotive finance and insurance industries; Providing statistical information and indexes of mortgages, interests, and prices for others; Providing industry information relating to the financial industry
IC 036. US 100 101 102. G & S: Financial and monetary affairs, namely providing personal loans and lines of credit; Financial affairs and monetary affairs, namely, financial information, management and analysis services; Mortgage compliance consulting services concerning financial requirements for mortgages for mortgage lenders and servicers and mortgage brokers; Mortgage foreclosure mitigation and loan default mitigation services, namely, acquisition and lease-back of real estate; Mortgage foreclosure services; Mortgage procurement for others; Mortgage services, namely, buyer pre-qualification of mortgages for mortgage brokers and banks; Mortgaging of securities for others; Advice on finance during retirement; Cash flow services, namely, providing cash to mortgage holders or other notes at a discounted rate in return for ownership of the mortgage or note; Crowdfunding services in the nature of providing financing from money collected from individuals; Escrow services for the travel industry; Financial consulting services, namely, expert analysis in finance; Financial services, namely, mortgage planning; Financial services, namely, loss mitigation services for under- or non-performing mortgage loans; Financial services, namely, the purchase of residential mortgages on behalf of others and the issuance of mortgage-backed securities; Maintaining mortgage escrow accounts; Maintaining mortgage impound accounts; Maintaining escrow accounts for mortgage borrowers; Membership club services, namely, providing information to members in the fields of real estate, mortgages and debt elimination; Processing mortgage insurance policy refunds; Providing financing information in the field of automobiles; Providing information and advice in the field of finance, financial investments, financial valuations, and the financial aspects of retirement; Providing information and research in the field of finance and financial investments; Providing information in the field of finance; Providing information in the field of personal finance; Providing information, commentary and advice in the field of finance, financial investments and financial valuations; Providing on-line news in the field of finance; Providing post-compliance financial reviews for the mortgage industry; Providing working capital financing to small businesses and small business owners; Real estate financing services; Real estate services to stop foreclosure, namely, mortgage debt management
IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S: Providing a website featuring information in the field of personal finance, mortgage and investments; providing a website featuring blogs and non-downloadable publications in the nature of articles, brochures, and informational pages in the field(s) of financial services; Providing a web site featuring non-downloadable instructional videos in the field of finance
IC 042. US 100 101. G & S: Providing internet based data capture services that enable the exchange of information via the internet from residential mortgage borrowers to institutions for use in loan workouts; Providing quality control services for the mortgage industry
IC 045. US 100 101. G & S: Mortgage compliance consulting services concerning mortgage-related laws for mortgage lenders and servicers and mortgage brokers; Closing services for mortgage loans
The current status of the domain is “coming soon” as the web site at Refinance.com indicates:
Why was REFINANCE.COM applied for as a trademark at the USPTO?
It’s an ongoing trend among owners of generic domain names, following the decision by SCOTUS on the Booking.com trademark application.
Since then, dozens of generic domain names have been applied to be registered as trademarks, inclusive of the TLD. We keep track of these applications, and so far none has been decided upon.
As of January 5th, 2021, BOOKING.COM is a registered trademark with the USPTO.
Will these applications become the new norm? Watch this video from NamesCon Online 2020.
