mikeybear

Yesterday Lyle Shelton tweeted “my blog lyleshelton.com.au has been challenged & taken down”:

It’s worth pointing out that it was his domain name “lyleshelton.com.au” that was taken down, not his blog.

As of June 8 the auDA Drop List shows both “lyleshelton.com.au” and “lyleshelton.net.au” were flagged as Deleted Domain Names:

The Domain Name Drop List shows the date and time that Domain Names are eligible to be purged. When a Domain Name is purged, it becomes available for registration according to the policy of the Regulator. Unless restored the Domain Name will be purged at the next Purge Cycle, also as defined in Regulator Policy. The Purge Cycle is an automated process within the Domain Name Registry System.

auDA has some very strict rules for registering .au domain names, and it would appear that Lyle Shelton has not complied with the particular rules for a .com.au domain name.

The current WHOIS entry for lyleshelton.com.au (see below) shows that the registrant was Whitestone Strategic and the contact person is David Hutt.

The .auDA policy (see below) states that “Domain names in the com.au 2LD” must be “an exact match, abbreviation or acronym of the registrant’s name or trademark” or “otherwise closely and substantially connected to the registrant”.

It would appear that, as it currently stands, “lyleshelton.com.au” meets neither of these requirements.

It is incumbent on Lyle Shelton to ensure he abides by the .auDA rules for domain names if he want to use a .au domain name.

Whois response for lyleshelton.com.au:

2012-04 – Domain Name Eligibility and Allocation Policy Rules for the Open 2LDs

SCHEDULE C

ELIGIBILITY AND ALLOCATION RULES FOR COM.AU

The com.au 2LD is for commercial purposes.

The following rules are to be read in conjunction with the Eligibility and Allocation Rules for All Open 2LDs, contained in Schedule A of this document.

1.  To be eligible for a domain name in the com.au 2LD, registrants must be:

a) an Australian registered company; or

b) trading under a registered business name in any Australian State or Territory; or

c) an Australian partnership or sole trader; or

d) a foreign company licensed to trade in Australia; or

e) an owner of an Australian Registered Trade Mark; or

f) an applicant for an Australian Registered Trade Mark; or

g) an association incorporated in any Australian State or Territory; or

h) an Australian commercial statutory body.

1. Domain names in the com.au 2LD must be:

a) an exact match, abbreviation or acronym of the registrant’s name or trademark; or

b) otherwise closely and substantially connected to the registrant, in accordance with the categories of “close and substantial connection” set out in the Guidelines on the Interpretation of Policy Rules for the Open 2LDs.

1. A domain name may also be registered in the com.au 2LD under paragraph 2(b) for the purpose of domain monetisation, in accordance with the explanation of “domain monetisation” set out in the Guidelines on the Interpretation of Policy Rules for the Open 2LDs, provided that the following conditions are met:

a) the content on the website to which the domain name resolves must be related specifically and predominantly to subject matter denoted by the domain name; and

b) the domain name must not be, or incorporate, an entity name, personal name or brand name in existence at the time the domain name was registered*.

• Definitions:

• “entity name” means the name of an Australian registered company or incorporated association as listed with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), or the name of an Australian government body. It does not include a registered business name;
• “personal name” means the given name(s) and/or last name of a person; and
• “brand name” means the name of an identifiable and distinctive product or service, whether commercial or non-commercial.

POST SCRIPT – 14-Jun-2018

This morning the WHOIS record for lyleshelton.com.au reverted to ‘Ok’ status and the web site was available again.