[Auugps] Request relating to our AUUG trading name

[steve jenkin]

The DNS name “auug.com.au” is already registered to Joshua and “Triplethink”, though the webpage says it’s “parked”.
I’m not sure how he managed that under the Australian Rules for ‘.com.au’. Does he have a Trademark?
The ABR, Australian Business Register, is public and well known. No excuse for it not to be searched beforehand and a suitable _free_ name chosen.

Even if he gets AUUG Inc to be deregistered, there’s still the unincorporated AUUG Preservation Society that should rightfully block his registration.

An often used mechanism for DNS name conflicts is to offer a landing page that points to the various entities.
He could point to auug.org.au and his own site, even automatically redirecting to his within 3 seconds...

I raised this issue recently with Lawrie Brown because of a comment in last year’s PCUG report.
He very graciously replied, although he’s on leave in the UK, saying it was still stuck in Limbo with the Victorian Dept, despite years of effort.

The Victorian registrar of Associations, I’m told, apparently won’t deregister AUUG Inc because the Public Officer (now Secretary) last known to them is uncontactable and didn’t advise the registrar at the time of their resignation. I’m not sure about the Registered Address.
I’d have thought that a common enough occurrence for there to be an administrative process, but I’m told there’s not.

I’ve read the NSW Associations Act closely. In NSW, failure to file returns & pay registration fees leads to deregistration.
There’s no clear cut mechanism, thought the Act implies 1-2 years, I know of a case of non-filing for more 10 years and when brought to the attention of the NSW registrar, they were immediately deregistered, though they kept trading and using the name, including the protected word, “Inc”. Almost a year later they got their act together and submitted 7 years of returns, where upon the NSW Office of Fair Trading reinstated their registration under an odd clause I thought was unrelated.

The wash-up:
 - technically AUUG Inc should have been automatically deregistered by Victoria, and 
 - but its seems very different rules to companies apply to Associations in Australia.

I don’t have sympathy for Joshua Young and his company:
  they know, or should’ve known, the rules for DNS registration in Australia [thanks to ‘kre' for those, clearest and most logical in the world, IMO]

If they didn’t check the various uses of AUUG in Australia before naming his (music) product, they didn’t undertake Due Diligence.
AUUG Inc has been publicly well known by the name at least since 1980 and formally registered since 1984.

This is Joshua's business: <http://triplethink.com.au>

Because you (Stephen) own the DNS of “auug.org.au” as the representative of the unincorporated "AUUG Preservation Society”, he’s come to the right place.
There is NO legal difference in treatment of names for Incorporated or Unincorporated Associations. Registering under the Act allows & requires use of “Inc” in the name and provides corporate protection for members, the same as for companies.

Even if Victorian Justice Dept comes to their senses and allows deregistration of AUUG Inc, there’s still the matter of the Preservation Society owning the rights to AUUG.

He can register an image trade mark of his name, which I’d suspect he’s already done.
He’s got the DNS records.
He can register a business name using complete words and use a common abbreviation or contraction.

If you recall, AUUG originally stood for “Australian Unix Users Group”, but AT&T assert their right to the “Unix” trademark, and the name of the group was changed to something with “Open Systems”, not Unix.

The Triplethink guys need to talk with a (better) IP lawyer, IMHO.

"Australian Unique Usable Grip” might be a first place to try.


On 15 Sep 2014, at 11:48 am, Stephen Rothwell <sfr at canb.auug.org.au> wrote:

> Hi all,
> 
> We have received the request below.  The web site looks legit, but who
> knows?
> 
> Anyone have any thoughts?  Can we actually deregister the name?  Last
> time we tried to unincorporate, I think that the relevant Victorian
> department would not even talk to us?

ABR entry
<http://abr.business.gov.au/SearchByAbn.aspx?abn=15645981718>

<http://classic.auug.org.au/info/index.html>
The Australian Unix systems User Group, or AUUG, was formally constituted on the 27th August 1984 at a meeting of Unix users held on the campus of Melbourne University, after nine years of informal existence... The first AUUG meeting was held in 1975 at the University of New South Wales. (Peter Barnes, Secretary, AUUG).

The ABN: 15 645 981 718, quoted on the ‘classic’ site is still listed in the ABR (below).
<http://classic.auug.org.au/info/contacts.html>

I was unable to track down the other number on ASIC, but there’s details on VIC register (below)
"AUUG is formally incorporated in the state of Victoria (registered number A0016636N)…”
<https://online.justice.vic.gov.au/cav/br-search-results>

==============================================

<http://abr.business.gov.au/SearchByAbnHistory.aspx?SearchText=15+645+981+718>

Entity name	From	To
AUSTRALIAN UNIX USER GROUP	20 Nov 1999	(current)
ABN Status	From	To
Active	20 Nov 1999	(current)
Entity type
Other Incorporated Entity
Goods & Services Tax (GST)	From	To
Registered	01 Jul 2000	(current)
Main business location	From	To
NSW 2213	11 Jul 2000	(current)

======================================

An Extract for an Incorporated Association includes contact details and secretary details.
[an ASIC search. URL’s aren’t permanent]

Number of Result(s):  1
Search Type: Registration number
Word(s) Searched: A0016636N
Time and Date: 1:50 PM 03/09/2014
Additional information about an incorporated association can be purchased by selecting the Buy button. The fee is $26.50 per extract.

Purchase Extract		-
Organisation Name		AUUG INC.	
Organisation Number	A0016636N
Date Registered		26/08/1988
Status				Registered
Last Annual Statement Lodged Year Ending	30/05/1995
Incomplete Submission	-

--
Steve Jenkin, IT Systems and Design 
0412 786 915 (+61 412 786 915)
PO Box 48, Kippax ACT 2615, AUSTRALIA

mailto:sjenkin at canb.auug.org.au http://members.tip.net.au/~sjenkin

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