Background to the.coop TLD Registry

Cooperatives are a global business model. They operate in most countries and in a variety of sectors. While the North American cooperative sector is active and successful, in terms of numbers of co-ops it is smaller in size than that of Europe, which is, in turn, smaller than the co-op sector of Asia. This background paper primarily contains information about U.S. cooperatives, but a fuller review of cooperatives around the world should begin with a look at information found on the website of the International Co-operative Alliance in Geneva, Switzerland (www.ica.coop) which has members from around the world. In general, a cooperative is a business owned and democratically controlled by the people who use its services and whose benefits are derived and distributed equitably on the basis of use. The user-owners are called members. They benefit in two ways from the cooperative. First, the more they use the cooperative, the more service they receive. Second, earnings are typically allocated to members based on the amount of business they do with the cooperative. In many ways, cooperatives resemble other businesses. They have simila