Foreign online gambling operators with registered domain names will be wise to review a change in rules which could limit their ability to secure and keep their Australian domain names.
According to Australian law firm Addisons, the new rules further narrow eligibility for companies vying for dot com. au and dot net. au name spaces, which typically require the operator to first meet an Australian presence test.
The new rule now requires operators to use the same domain name as their registered trademark in Australia, rather than any abbreviation, or otherwise alternate name. For example, a company with the trademark A BLUE DOVE TEACUP, will only be allowed a domain name of abluedovteacup .com .au (same words, same order).
These changes will affect foreign operators who use a trade mark as the basis of meeting the Australian presence requirement, or those with a domain name that is not an exact match of their trade mark.
