View source for .ag

{{Short description|Country code top-level domain for Antigua and Barbuda}}

{{More citations needed|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox Top level domain
| name=.ag
| background=#CCF
| image=DotAG domain logo.png
| introduced=3 September 1991
| type=[[Country code top-level domain]]
| status=Active
| registry=NicAg
| sponsor=None
| intendeduse=Entities connected with [[Antigua and Barbuda]] 
| actualuse=Sees some use, most of which is unrelated to Antigua and Barbuda; used largely by companies in German-speaking countries where '''AG''' has a special meaning in company names, though its use in Germany is restricted by court order
| restrictions=None
| structure=Names can be registered directly at the [[second-level domain|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]
| dnssec=Yes}}

'''.ag''' is the [[Internet]] [[country code]] [[top-level domain]] ([[ccTLD]]) for [[Antigua and Barbuda]]. As of 2021 the .ag CcTLD is maintained by the [[University of Health Sciences (Antigua)|UHSA School of Medicine]].<ref>[https://www.iana.org/domains/root/db/ag.html Delegation Record for .AG]</ref>

== Second and third level registrations ==

Registrations can be made at the second level directly beneath .ag, or at the third level beneath:
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Domain
!Intended use
|-
|'''.com.ag'''
| rowspan="2" |Commercial entities
|-
|'''.co.ag'''
|-
|'''.org.ag'''
|Organisations, especially nonprofits
|-
|'''.net.ag'''
|Network operators / providers
|-
|'''.nom.ag'''
|Individuals
|}
There are no restrictions on who can register.

==Domain hacks==
In addition to its original intended use as a country code, the .ag domain has been marketed for use for agriculture-related [[website|sites]], and for sites referencing the atomic symbol for [[silver]], ''Ag''. 

It also has a potential use for other [[domain hack]]s for [[English language|English]] words that end in -ag. [[The Heritage Foundation]] uses .ag for [[URL shortening]] (herit.ag), as well as [[The Association of Former Students]] of [[Texas A&M University]] (tx.ag). <ref>{{cite web |title=The Domain of Antigua & Barbuda |url=https://www.dynadot.com/domain/ag.html |publisher=Dynadot}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=An Aggies-Only URL Shortener|date=21 February 2011 |url=https://www.aggienetwork.com/news/126017/an-aggiesonly-url-shortener/|publisher=[[The Association of Former Students]]}}</ref>

=== ".ag" meaning "''Aktiengesellschaft''" ===

{{Lang|de|[[Aktiengesellschaft]]}}, abbreviated AG, is a [[German language|German]] term that refers to a [[corporation]] that is limited by [[share (finance)|share]]s, i.e. owned by [[shareholder]]s, and may be traded on a [[stock market]]. 

The term is used in [[Germany]], [[Austria]], and [[Switzerland]], but not [[Liechtenstein]] or [[Luxembourg]].

====Legal status of .ag in Germany====
A German court (''5. Zivilsenat des Oberlandesgerichtes Hamburg'') ruled in July 2004 that a ''.ag'' domain may only be registered by an {{Lang|de|[[Aktiengesellschaft]]}}, and then only by an AG that has the same name as the domain. 

For example, a company with shareholders in Germany having the name X AG may not register as y.ag.<ref>{{in lang|de}} http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/49249</ref><ref>{{in lang|de}} http://www.internet4jurists.at/domain/e_deutsch.htm</ref>

===Use in Greenland===
The newspaper [[Sermitsiaq (newspaper)|Sermitsiaq]] uses the TLD since its merger with the paper [[Atuagagdliutit/Grønlandsposten]], which was marketed as AG as an abbreviation of its combined Greenlandic and Danish names, thus implying a continuation of its identity.

==See also==
* [[Internet in Antigua and Barbuda]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.afilias-grs.info/ag List of .AG Registrars] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130708105605/http://www.afilias-grs.info/ag |date=2013-07-08 }}
* [https://www.iana.org/domains/root/db/ag.html IANA .ag whois information]

{{ccTLD}}
{{Antigua and Barbuda topics}}
{{Americas topic|Internet in }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ag}}
[[Category:Communications in Antigua and Barbuda]]
[[Category:Country code top-level domains]]
[[Category:Internet properties established in 1991]]


{{compu-domain-stub}}

[[sv:Toppdomän#A]]