.nu
.nu is the ccTLD for the country of Niue. It is managed by The IUSN Foundation.[1]
The TLD is currently operated by Internetstiftelsen i Sverige, the organization responsible for the management of Sweden's .se TLD.[2]
Delegation History and Ownership Controversy edit
The domain was originally delegated to the nonprofit Internet Users Society Niue (IUSN) in 1997. During this time, the Niue government signed an agreement with American businessman Bill Semich who wanted to control the domain in exchange for free unlimited Internet access and wifi in Niue. Through the IUSN Foundation, Semich claimed that part of the revenues generated from the .nu domain would go towards Niue’s internet access. In 2000, realising the major losses from this deal, the Niue government cancelled the deal with Semich, but were unsuccessful due to the legal language of the agreement making no difference. Semich also refused to give back control over the .nu domain to the Government of Niue.[3]
Mr. Semich has repeatedly denied Niue’s claims of wrongdoing. In 2013, IUSN Foundation struck a deal to hand over the operation of .nu to the Swedish Internet Foundation, which runs Sweden’s .se domain. The word "nu" means "now" in Swedish, Danish and Dutch, and thousands of Scandinavians registered websites with that suffix, making it very valuable and lucrative.[4]
In 2018, Niue filed a lawsuit to the Stockholm District Court claiming that the Swedish Internet Foundation in 2013 had taken the .nu domain name "unfairly" and without the Niue government’s consent.[3] They also asked roughly about 20 million USD in damages. In March 2024, the ruling came out in favor of Internetstiftelsen. According to the court, Internetstiftelsen has acted in accordance with the regulations related to this matter. Internetstiftelsen does not have to apply for permission from the government of Niue in these matters. Accordingly, a foundation cannot be liable for damages and based on this the petition was denied. Instead, the Island of Niue (and their representative Pär Brumark) would to pay for the costs related to the court hearing, an amount of roughly 250,000 USD.[5]