A member asked almost 9 years ago

If I own the .com domain URL, am I entitled to the .au address?

I am an incorporated Australian company who owns the rights to a .com URL address. I am wishing to also use the .com.au address, but someone currenty owns the site and is using the same business name as my company. Do I have the right to claim the .com.au address/

Paul Noonan
Partner at Thomson Geer
Hello there and thanks for your question. The answer is no - your agreement with the registrar for the .com domain name doesn't give you any rights over the corresponding .au domain name. If the .au domain name is available, you can register it separately.

Answered almost 9 years ago   Legal disclaimer

Brennan Ong Lilian Dikmans Dudley Kneller Sam Wong Val Antoff Tyler Wright
6 lawyers agree with this answer and 1 member found this useful
Thank
Dudley kneller
Dudley Kneller

I agree with Paul on this also. One thing you haven't mentioned is whether you have any relevant trademarks. If you have a trademark for your own company and this name is being used by the other party then you may have rights which you can enforce against them. This may include seeking to have the com.au domain transferred to you. It is worth considering further and a lawyer will be able to advise on what other options are open to you to protect your business interests and intellectual property rights.

almost 9 years ago

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