Dear [private]Please be advised that our office has been retained to represent Religious Technology Center ("RTC"), Church of Scientology International ("CSI") and the L. Ron Hubbard Library, regarding trademark and copyright infringement that is occurring on a number of your Internet websites.
I. Trademark Infringement.
The file of this matter reveals that you have previously been apprised that RTC is the owner of the trademarks of the Scientology religion, which includes the following trademarks and service marks:
1. ?SCIENTOLOGY,? which is registered with the Australian Trademark Officer under registration numbers A482,979; A409,469; Al54,356; A482,978; A482,977; A412,302:
2, "L. RON HUBBARD," which is registered with the Australian trademark office under registration numbers 154357, 312978, 387759. 415422.415423:
3, "SCIENTOLOGISTS," which is a collective membership trademark which is famous, distinctive and unique, and is used to identify parishioners who arc in good standing in the Scientology religion; and has acquired an extensive and distinctive reputation at common law in Australia and elsewhere.
4. ?HUBBARD" which is registered under registration numbers 399952. 482986. 482987. 504484.
5. "CIENCIOLOGIA," ?SZCIENTOLOGIA," "SZCIENTOLOGIA, " and "SCIENTOLOGIA" are also registered trademarks.
CSI is the licensee of these marks.
CSI and its sub-licensees use these marks in connection with providing religious and humanitarian services and counseling, seminars, books, classes, and lectures, among others These marks are also used extensively on the Internet. For example, many of these products including a great number of books of the Scientology religion and services are promoted through various web sites, including "scientology.org", "scientologists.net," "lronhubbard.org," and whatisscientology.org," to name a few.
We have been apprised that you are the registrant for a number of domain names and websites containing our client's trademarks and you are using them without their authorization as follows:
1. You are using our client's trademarks, Scientologist and L. Ron Hubbard, in the following domain names which have been registered by you:
"scientologistsfreezone.com" and "lronhubbard-tribute.com."
2. On the websites to which these domain names resolve, you have provided
links to companies and organizations with which you are connected and which offer to supply and sell the goods and services which fall within our trademark registration and which are not produced by RTC, CSI or any of their licensees.
3. You have repeatedly placed our client's mark, Scientologist, in big bold letters on the website "scientologistsfreezone.com."
4. You are using our client's marks in metatags in a repetitious manner on all of the webpages of your websites. These include "scientologistsfreezone.com," "internationalfreezone.com," marysuehubbard.com," lronhubbardtribute.com," "Faza.axdf.net," and "invisionfree.com."
Examples of such unauthorized use can be found under the following URLs:
http://www.scientologistsfreezone.com
hup://www.scientologistsfreezone.com/information.shtml
http://www.scientologistsfreezone.com/reading.shtml
http://www.scientologistsfreezone.com/links.shtml
http://www.scientologistsfreezone.com/terms.shtml
http://www.scientologistsfreezone.com/feedback.php
http://www.scientologistsfreezone.com/definitions.shtinl
http://www.internationalfreezone.net
http://www.internationalfreezone.net/index.shtml
http://www.internationalfreezone.net/aims.shtml
http://www.internationalfreezone.net/Purposes.shtml
http://www.internationalfreezone.net/constitution.shtml
http://www.internationalfreezone.net/news.shtml
http://www.internationalfreezone.net/donations.shtml
http://www.internationalfreezone.net/OrgBoard.shtml
-3- 19 April, 2006
http ://www.internationalfreezone. net/member.php
http://www.interriationalfreezone.net/renewal.php
http://www.internationalfreezone.net/technology.shtml
http://www.intemationalfreezone.net/auditor.shtml
http://www.internationalfreezone.net/fieldauditors.shtml
hltp://www.internationalfreezone.net/auditor_resources.shtml
http://www.internationalfreezone.net/training_groups.shtml
http://vvww.internationalfreezone.net/success.shtml
http://www.internationalfreezone.net/services.php
http://www.intcrnationalfreezone.net/stalker.shtml
http://www.internationalfreezone.net/stalker.shtml
http://vvww.internationalfreezone.net/irforni.shtml
http://www.internalionalfreezone.net/Dispute.shtml
http://wvvw.intemationalfreezone.net/downloads.shtml
http://www.internationalfreezone.net/resources.shtml
http://www.internationalfreezone.net/definitions.shtml
http://www.internationalfreezone.net/faq.shtml
http://www.internationalfreezone.net/links.shtml
http://www.internationalfreezone.nel/trainingpjt.shtml
http://www. internationalfreezone.net/trproject.shtml
http://www.internationaltreezone.net/website.shtml
http://www.internationalfreezone.net/lwprojeet.shtml
http://www.internationalfreezone.net/comparison.shtnil
http://www.inernationalfreezone.net/feedback.php
http://www.internationalfreezone.net/acks.shtml
http://www.internationalireezone.net/banners.shtml
http://www.internationalfreezone.net/Terms.shtinl
http://www.internationalfreezone.net/Privacy.shtml
http://www.internationalfreezone.net/this%20site.shtml
http://www.marysuehubbard.com/index.shtml
http://www.marysuehubbard.com/page2.shtml
http://wvvw.niarysueliubbard.com/page3.shtml
http://www.marysuehubbard.com/info.shtml
http://www.marysuehubbard.com/ken.shtm]
http://www.marysuehubbard.com/brown.shtml
http://www.marysuehubbard.com/bui1les.shtml
http://www.marysuehubbard.com/phil.shtml
http://wvvvv.marysuehubbard.com/deathcert.shtml
http://wwvv.marysuehubbard.eom/links./shtml
http://www.marysuehubbard.com/downloads.shtml
http://www.marysuehubbard.com/contacts.shtml
http://www.marysuehubbard.com/banners.shtml
http://www.marysuehubbard.com/security.shtml
http://www.marysuehubbard.com/terms/shtml
http://www.marysuehubbard.com/privacy.shtml
http://www.marysuehubbard.com/this%20site.shtml
http://www.fanza.axdf.net
http://fanza.axdf.net/index.shtml
http://fanza.axdf.net/technology.shtml
http://fanza.axdf.net/auditorlist.shtml
http://fanza.axdf.net/auciitorlist.shtml
http://fanza.axdf.net/niernbership.shtml
http://fanza.axdf.net/org.shtml
http://fanza.axdf.net/links.shtml
hup://fanza.axdf.net/definitions.shtml
http://fanza.axdf.net/faq.shtml
http://fanza.axdf.net/acks.shtml
http://fanza.axdf.net/security.shtml
http://fanza.axdf.net/terms.shtml
http://sl 1.invisionfree.com/FreeZoneChat/index.php
http://www.lronhubbard-trib.ute com
http://www.lronhubbard-tribute.com/index.shtml
http://www.lronhubbard-tribute.com/read.php
http://www.lronhubbard-tribute.com/bio.shtml
http://www.lronhubbard-tribute.com/tribute.php
http://www.lronhubbard-tribute.com/faq.shtml
http://www.lronhubbard-tribute.com/links.shtnil
http://www.lronhubbard-tribute.com/forums.shtml
http://www.lronhubbard-tribute.com/privacy.shtml
http://www.lronhubbard-tribute.com/terms.shtml
http://www.lronhubbard-tribute.com/site.shtml
Australian trademark law. Sections 120(1) and 120(2) of the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Commonwealth), prohibits the commercial use of a mark which is "substantially identical with, or deceptively similar, to the trademark owner's mark in respect of goods or services for which the mark is registered or goods or services which are closely related to, or of the same description as. such goods or services.'"
Likewise, the Trade Practices Act and its State and Territory equivalents prohibit corporations or individuals, from engaging in conduct that has the effect or likely effect of misleading or deceiving consumers into believing that an association exists between them and another's organisation's services. The conduct complained of here clearly constitutes misleading and deceptive conduct under that legislation, as it is evident that this domain name was registered for the purpose of diverting persons from our client's official Scientology website to a web page that has nothing whatsoever to do with our client, solely for the purpose of commercial profit.
The use of our client's marks in this manner also amounts to the tort of passing off under Australian law. Passing off is made out if it can be shown that the mark is being used in such a way as to represent that it is a mark of the Church of Scientology, or that this webpage has some affiliation with or approval by the Church, and that there is some actual or probable damage to Church of Scientology by reason of the usage of the mark. These elements arc self-evident in this case as the entirety of this website is dedicated to using our client's trademark to divert Internet users to come to the Freezone and not the Church of Scientology. Your disclaimer that your use of our client's trademarks is not to sell products is belied by the very website itself, as the very first place you link to using these marks is your own website, "International Freezone Association'' on which you offer services, books and counseling, setting prices for these.
Likewise, your attempt in the metatags to alter our client's registered trademark by one or two letters does not protect you from trademark infringement. I am referring to the following terms you have placed as metatags on each of your webpages: (1) sientology, removing the c, (2) scintology. removing the e; (3) scientolgy, removing the o; (4) scientoogy, removing the 1; (5) scientologically; (6) cientology, removing the s; and (5) scientologi, replacing the y with an I. Australian case law likewise holds that such constitutes trademark infringement. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has recently taken action resulting in the publishers of "The Trading Post" removing form its website sponsored links using competitors' names and trademarks, (see ACCC "News Release" NR150/05).
Our file reveals that this is the not first time that you have been put on notice of infringements of these same trademarks in the past. In this instance, we have evidence that you utilized a proxy service in order to conceal your infringing conduct, conduct which you had previously been apprised of. The fact that you are now repeating the same conduct through hidden means constitutes evidence that your infringements are malicious and intentional. Be aware that Section 79 of the Trade Practices Act provides for fines of up to $1,100,000 for offences against Section 53 of the Trade Practices Act. The Court may also award damages to a person injured by the offending conduct.
It is also clear that you registered the following domain names at the same time you registered Scientologistsfreezone.com-these were all registered with the same registrar, at or around the same time and same day:
scientologists-freezone.com
scientologists-freezone.net
scientologists-freezone.org
scientology-freezone.biz
scientologistsfreezone.net
scientologistsfreezone.org
Scientologyfreezone-biz.
The law cited above applies to these domain names, as well. Based upon the above, please transfer these domain names to our client, CSI.
II. Copyright Infringement.
Additionally, our client, the L. Ron Hubbard Library owns the copyrights to photographs of L. Ron Hubbard and his wife, Mary Sue Hubbard. We have also been notified that you have placed several of these copyrighted photographs on your websites without our client's permission. These can be found under the following URLs:
http://lronhubbard-tribute.com/LRH.jpg
http://scientologistsfreezone.com/wis.shtml
http://marysuehubbard.com
Your actions in this regard amount to unauthorized reproduction of copyright works owned by our clients and consequently infringe our client's copyright contrary to the provisions of s.36 of the Copyright Act.
This letter is sent without prejudice to RTC's and CSI's legal rights and claims, all of which are expressly reserved.
We appreciate your prompt attention to this matter and look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
[signed]
[private]
DAVIES COLLISON CAVE SOLICITORS PTY LTD
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