DotCooperation
DotCooperation LLC is the Registry of the internet namespace .coop.
.coop is a Top-Level Domain (TLD). It is one of the original four ‘sponsored’ internet namespaces - specialized TLDs that represent a community most affected by the TLD. .coop TLD has been managed by DotCoop LLC since 2002 when the contract with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) was first agreed. As the sponsor of the .coop TLD , DotCoop LLC works within a charter defining the purpose for which the .coop TLD was created and how it is to be operated. .coop is responsible for developing policies that ensure the TLD is operated for the benefit of the global cooperative community. .coop is also responsible for selecting the registry operator and, to varying degrees, for establishing the roles played by registrars and their relationship with the registry operator.
.coop exercises its delegated authority according to fairness standards and in a manner that is representative of the global cooperative community
Aims
The .coop domain suffix allows cooperatives to identify themselves as member-owned businesses on the Internet and to help consumers find the businesses they trust online. The .coop domain reflects the cooperative movement’s aims of growing awareness of the movement and the benefits of cooperative activity online with both the global cooperative community and the wider public.
Organisation
DotCoop was set up in 2001 by the Midcounties Cooperative to manage the .coop TLD through a subsidiary; Midcounties Co-operative Domains. This body managed the technical operations of the .coop registry under a contract with DotCoop. In 2012, Midcounties Co-operative Domains became Domains.coop, a wholly owned subsidiary of the ICA. Domains.coop Ltd is headquartered in Oxford, UK.
The National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA) and the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) each own 50% of DotCooperation LLC, headquartered in Washington DC. In 2017, DotCoop LLC became the owner of Domains.coop Ltd., an accredited registrar that, alongside other registrar businesses, retails the .coop domain. Domains.coop records and maintains the contact and technical information that makes up the registration and provides the technical information to the central directory or ‘registry’. This allows computers on the Internet to send e-mail or find a website. CentralNic provides .coop with the technical infrastructure to maintain the registry. Verification
The .coop suffix is exclusive to cooperatives and can only be used by recognised cooperatives, associations and businesses whose mission is solely and exclusively to support and promote the cooperative business model. DotCoop LLC is responsible for verifying that all .coop registrants are eligible to use the .coop domain under the terms of the sponsored namespace charter and the ICANN contract and safeguarding the .coop namespace.
There are currently around 8,000 .coop registrations by approximately 5,000 co-operatives from 90 countries.
Promotion
DotCoop LLC is responsible for the promotion of the .coop TLD to the global cooperative community. In 2017 Dotcoop launched a major re-branding campaign - ‘The Dot That Says a Lot’
http://www.coop/the-dot-that-says-a-lot/
The Global Cooperative Marque .coop administers and promotes the global visual identity of the co-op movement; the Global Cooperative Marque, a logo for cooperatives worldwide, created by the International Cooperative Alliance and used by 3,400 Marque registrants from 106 countries.