Court stymies domain name peddlers

12.00pm

An Australian federal court has barred entrepreneur Chesley Rafferty and his company from providing misleading web domain names.

That decision follows one in which a court found Rafferty and Domain Names Australia Pty Ltd. had breached the Trade Practices Act.

Rafferty had described that ruling as a "temporary setback". But the latest ruling effectively stops the company from pursuing its line of business.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission had launched proceedings against Domain Names and Rafferty last October, alleging the company breached the act by sending out misleading notices inviting people to register a particular internet domain.

The domain names were often similar to domain names already owned by the person the letter was sent to.

The letters sent to holders of .com.au names offered to register or re-new a similar name in other domains like .com or .net.au.

Similar letters were sent to holders of .co.nz names by another Rafferty company, Domain Names NZ, but most of the responses were intercepted by the Commerce Commission.

Judge Ray Finkelstein today issued an order restraining Domain Names and Rafferty from "engaging in future offending conduct of this nature" for three years.

Judege Finklestein was concerned that the notices conveyed the false impression that a person's domain would expire if payment was not made by a certain date.

Earlier this month the Commerce Commission froze over $500,000 of payments New Zealanders made to Domain Names NZ, which is run by the same operators.