Rick Welykochy wrote:

>David Keegel wrote:
>> 
>> ] Peter Gerrand wrote:
>> ]
>> ] > >If we assume that Melbourne IT is correct in not allowing certain
>> ] > tradenames under .com.au
>> ] > [not quite right; we can register them under current policies if the TM
>> ] > also coincides with a subset of the applicant's ACN or RBN - and it
is not
>> ] > already allocated]
>> ]
>> ] Quick question, Peter.
>> ] Can I register a domain in .com.au without having an ACN or RBN?
>> 
>> What do you mean by "I"?
>> Only businesses can register domains in com.au.
>> That might sound obvious, but it isn't.  And its important to understand.
>> 
>> For example when the business is a company, natural persons can only be
>> involved to the extent that they are an agent of the business or doing
>> something on behalf of the business.
>> 
>> A natural person cannot register themself a domain in com.au.
>> A product cannot register itself a domain in com.au.
>> Only companies or similar businesses can register domains in com.au.
>
>I cannot understand, given the above criteria, why this domain
>was registered in .com.au, this year:
>
>AUNIC Name Status Report
>Name: dan.com.au
>This name is listed in the AUNIC registry:
>
>    Object-Type: DOMAIN
>    Organization-Name: Daniel Stephen Waldron
>    Organization-ACN: 000000000
>    Domain-Name: dan.com.au
>    Created: 13-Jan-98
>
>An enquiry to Mel.I.T. informed me of some strange rule
>that allows a natural person to obtain a domain name in
>.com.au if they have demonstrated they have been tradining
>under that name. In the above case I would assume D.S.Waldron
>demonstrated that he was trading as "Dan" but without an RBN.
>
>Any confirmation or elaboration on this one, Peter?

In NSW, an individual USED to be able to legally trade under their own name
without registering that name as a business name, ie Joe Bloggs Consulting.
This, I believe, is known as "sole trader" status. I don't know if this
situation still exists, but it looks as though it probably does. Perhaps
one of the legals on the list might like to clarify this.

Given this, Melbourne IT's rules state:

Any legal entity which is a commercial entity that trades in Australia can
register a COM.AU
domain name. For the purposes of this policy a commercial entity is
considered to be one that
exists to make a profit. 

Examples include companies, statutory corporations or authorities,
incorporated associations,
partnerships and sole traders. 

So I guess that might explain the apparent anomaly.

So, what's next ... :-) 
-- Fight for your right to belong to a union --

Boz Cappie
Lecturer
Institute of Interactive Multimedia
University of Technology, Sydney
PO Box 123, Broadway NSW 2007
Australia