Norwegian domain war: Elineweb vs Norid

The launch of free registration for the Norwegian subdomain .CO.NO was a joint initiative of the registrar Elineweb and CoDNS BV (a technical center). With more lenient registration rules, .CO.NO could become an alternative to Norway's national domain NO, under which companies are allowed to have a maximum of 20 domains.

However, Norid, the administrator of the .NO national domain, presented a list of demands to Elineweb. These demands were announced several months after the priority registration period began, just before the start of the premium registration period for .CO.NO.

Due to these requirements, the .CO.NO administrator had to postpone the start of premium registrations until Norid's disagreements were resolved.

Norid spent much of 2011 conducting research into the .CO.NO subdomain project's compliance with domain zone policy. It requested reports and letters, conference calls, and in-person meetings with representatives of the Elineweb registrar. Norid's final demands included the provision of confidential information (the .CO.NO domain operator's business plan).

All this indicated that Norid did not want to launch a subdomain.

Therefore, after lengthy and fruitless negotiations, .CO.NO administrator Elineweb filed a lawsuit against Norid. By doing so, it sought to legally assert its claim to the launch of open registration for the .CO.NO subdomain.

Elineweb representatives stated that all their attempts to resolve the issues peacefully through negotiations had been unsuccessful, leaving them with no choice but to file a lawsuit. "Norid left us no other choice," Elineweb said.

The .CO.NO domain administrator believes it offers the best choice and service to its Norwegian and international customers. Despite the lawsuit, the company hopes to see Norid as a partner, but also states its determination to protect both its rights and the users' right to freedom of choice.