Court declares imitation Sydney Opera House website illegal
Mr Richard Chen misled and deceived consumers by operating websites that imitated the Sydney Opera House official website and offered tickets for events at the Opera House without approval, the Federal Court has declared.
The decision follows Australian Competition and Consumer Commission action, in conjunction with overseas authorities.
"The court's recognition of the public interest in declaring such conduct as illegal under the Trade Practices Act and ordering injunctions restraining such future conduct should send a strong message to Internet fraudsters that the courts take these issues seriously", ACCC Chairman, Mr Graeme Samuel, said today. "As the presiding judge, Justice Sackville, said, marks the court's disapproval of the conduct and can be used to inform consumers of the dangers posed by Mr Chen's websites.
"Consumer fraud or deception across borders or targeting vulnerable or disadvantaged consumers or small businesses is a high enforcement priority for the ACCC", Mr Samuel said.
Mr Chen operated the website www.sydneyopera.org, which claimed to be the official booking site for the Sydney Opera House. It was affiliated with other sites including www.witestar.com, www.worldsboxoffice.com and www.scholarscircle.com. All claimed to be booking sites for various entertainment venues worldwide.
The ACCC alleged that several consumers from the United Kingdom and Europe tried to buy tickets through the imitation sites. Although their credit cards were charged, they were either overcharged or did not receive the tickets.
The ACCC's case involved complicated technological issues, compounded by the fact that the operator and websites were based overseas. Mr Chen, a New York resident, operated the site from US-based servers. He did not respond to the ACCC's proceedings.
Justice Sackville said in his judgment that: "…given the pattern of misleading and deceptive conduct revealed in the evidence, there can be no assurance that the respondent will not use the Sites or create other web sites to convey misleading information to Australian consumers (and consumers elsewhere) about the availability and sale of tickets to Sydney Opera House events".
The matter involved valuable cooperation from the ACCC’s counterpart agencies around the world through the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN), to which government, consumer protection and consumer law enforcement agencies from more than 30 countries belong. In particular, the US Federal Trade Commission.
Justice Sackville said: "While domestic courts can, to a limited extent, adapt their procedures and remedies to meet the challenges posed by cross-border transactions in the Internet age, an effective response requires international cooperation of a high order".
Mr Sitesh Bhojani, an ACCC Commissioner who currently holds the Presidency of ICPEN on behalf of the ACCC, said: "ICPEN welcomes the Federal Court's recognition of the growing problems of consumer fraud across borders particularly over the Internet and the integral role of the court in targeting remedies to discourage or prevent such activities".
Justice Sackville said: "In assessing whether the grant of injunction is futile, it seems to me to be appropriate to take into account not only formal enforcement mechanisms, but the likely response of administrative agencies in the foreign country. If, for example, an agency such as the FTC [Federal Trade Commission] in the United States is likely to initiate measures designed to curb misleading and deceptive conduct affecting Australian consumers because that conduct is the subject of a prohibitory injunction issued by an Australian court, I would not characterise the grant of such relief as an act of futility, notwithstanding that the injunction itself cannot be directly enforced through the courts of the United States".
"ICPEN is increasingly concerned to take action to protect consumers around the globe from internet scams", Mr Bhojani said. "This action brought by the ACCC is a very important example. This type of conduct adversely affects legitimate businesses and tourism in Australia.
"Consumers who believe they have been ripped off can lodge ecommerce complaints about companies in other countries on the ICPEN multilingual public website, www.econsumer.gov. This website is a joint effort to gather and share cross border e-commerce complaints in response to the challenge of international consumer fraud and working to improve consumer confidence in e-commerce".
Release # MR 180/03
Issued: 28th August 2003
Name change
ICPEN was formerly the “IMSN” – International Marketing Supervision Network. A decision was taken by the Network during the Australian Presidency to change its name to closer reflect its Consumer Protection and Enforcement activities. Hence, the new name International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network.
Mission
ICPEN's main objective is to take action to prevent and redress deceptive marketing practices with an international component. The Network fosters cooperative efforts by member authorities to tackle consumer problems connected with cross-border transactions in both goods and services. Exchange of information between authorities also plays a key role in effective investigations and court action where necessary.
ICPEN members:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, EC, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea (Republic of), Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, OECD, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, USA.
