auDA wins TPA action against DNA
13/Apr/2004
Justice Finkelstein finds DNA mail-outs to be misleading and deceptive
Melbourne, 13 April 2004 - .au Domain Administration (auDA), the administrator of .au domain names, has won its Trade Practices Act claim against Domain Names Australia Pty Ltd (DNA) and Chesley Rafferty.
On April 8, 2004 Justice Finkelstein found that the notices sent by DNA in July and September 2003 were, as alleged by auDA, misleading and deceptive.
Justice Finkelstein agreed with auDA’s claim that the notices falsely represented:
- that they were a notice for the renewal of an existing registered domain name;
- that the domain name was due for renewal by the ‘Closing Date’ referred to in the notice; and
- that the recipient of the notice risked losing their domain name by not requesting DNA to renew it.
Justice Finkelstein also found that DNA director Chesley Rafferty was personally involved in the contraventions of the Trade Practices Act by DNA and will be granting injunctions restraining both DNA and Rafferty from further breaching the legislation.
Chris Disspain CEO of auDA said, “auDA is delighted that we have won this battle but there is still more to do. We will now continue to pursue our class action against DNA and Chesley Rafferty to secure refunds for the many thousands of people who have been misled and deceived by these notices.”
“While misleading and deceptive notices, like the ones sent out by DNA and Chesley Rafferty, are rare, auDA strongly advises all Australians to register or renew their .au domain names only through an auDA accredited registrar or appointed reseller,” Mr Disspain concluded.
ENDS
About auDA
.au Domain Administration Ltd (auDA) is an Australian not-for-profit company vested with the responsibility of operating the .au domain for the benefit of all stakeholders.
In its role as manager of the .au domain, auDA carries out the following functions:
- develop and implement domain name policy
- license 2LD registry operators
- accredit and license registrars
- implement consumer safeguards
- facilitate .au Dispute Resolution Policy
- represent .au at ICANN and other international fora.
For more information:
Blackie McDonald
Grant Thomas, Account Director or Luke Dean, Account Manager
02 9929 0200
Grant.Thomas@bmcd.com.au
