From: natalie.verhoek 
Sent: Thursday, 29 July 2004 3:29 PM
To: jo.lim@auda.org.au
Subject: Geographic Domain Names

Dear Jo,

2.  Should the restriction on geographic names in com.au and net.au be removed - ie. should 
people be allowed to register geographic names in com.au and net.au? If so, why? 

It is my belief that a review of Geographic domain name eligibility should be reviewed.

You state: 
    "Under current auDA policy, people are not allowed to use Australian geographic (place) 
names* as domain names in com.au and net.au."
and yet upon investigation this seems your own policy has been compromised already in instances 
such as the successful and current registration of domain names such as:
    www.brisbane.com.au
    http://www.brisbane.net.au (Internet services)
    http://www.logan.com.au  (Horse Insurance)
    http://www.warwick.com.au/  (Fabrics export)

All of the above domain names are geographic locations in Australia and yet they are currently 
registered domain names and thus are the URL's of fully functioning websites - most of which 
have nothing to do with promoting the actual geographical location that they are named after...

My question is - why is this policy still in place when it is clearly not being upheld - a 
policy that clearly makes some people eligible, but not all people eligible?

I feel that in instances specifically whereby a person whose surnames form part of their 
registered business name, and whose name is also the name of a town, are disadvantaged through 
no fault of their own and should be allowed to register the appropriate .com.au or .net.au domain 
name.

I strongly encourage all of my clients to utilise the availability of Australia-specific domains 
such as .com.au and .net.au so they maintain an Australian business identity - this is something 
we should continue to encourage, instead of having business owners declined a right to domain
name simply because it also is the current name of a geographical location.  Restrictions imposed 
by auDA should be modified in order to accommodate legitimate business usage of these type of 
.com.au and .net.au domain names.  
    
In short, why continue to keep in place a policy that penalises people only some of the time, 
because the evidence above shows that people have successfully registered geographical locations 
(Brisbane, Warwick, Logan) in both the .com.au and .net.au without issue.  In fairness to every 
Australian business it should be an 'all or nothing' approach, which is currently not the case.

Kind Regards,
Natalie Verhoek
Owner/Manager
Integrated Web Solutions Australia