.ag

Infobox Top level domain
name=.ag
background=#CCF


introduced=1991
type=Country code top-level domain
status=Active
registry=NicAg
sponsor=None
intendeduse=Entities connected with
flag|Antigua and Barbuda
actualuse=Used largely by companies in German-speaking countries where AG has a special meaning in company names, though use in Germany is restricted by court order
restrictions=None
structure=Names can be registered directly at the second level; third-level registrations are also available under some second-level labels
document= [http://www.nic.ag/terms.htm Registration terms and conditions]
disputepolicy=UDRP
website= [http://www.nic.ag/ Nic.ag] |

.ag is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Antigua and Barbuda.

Second and third level registrations

Registrations can be made at the second level directly beneath .ag, or at the third level beneath .com.ag, .org.ag, .net.ag, .co.ag, or .nom.ag. There are no restrictions on who can register.

Legal status in Germany

In Germany the Domain ".ag" has a secondary meaning: AG, "Aktiengesellschaft" in the sense of a corporation with stockholders like [http://www.bmw.ag/ www.bmw.ag] .A German court ("5. Zivilsenat des Oberlandesgerichtes Hamburg") ruled in July 2004 in second instance that a ".ag" domain may only be registered by an "Aktiengesellschaft" and more precisely by an AG that has the same name as the domain. That means even if you own a company with shareholders in Germany with the name SAP AG, you may not register [http://example.ag/ example.ag] . [http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/49249] [http://www.internet4jurists.at/domain/e_deutsch.htm]

Other meanings

In addition to its original intended use as a country code, and the secondary meaning as a type of company in German-speaking countries, the .ag domain has been marketed for use for agriculture-related sites, and for sites referencing the atomic symbol for silver, Ag. It also has a potential use for other domain hacks for English words that [http://xona.com/domainhacks/suggest/aag.htm end in -ag] .

AG is the symbol for Silver on the Periodic Table of Elements

External links

* [http://www.iana.org/root-whois/ag.htm IANA .ag whois information]