Business using ".org" website name

[Absolute Zero]

I always thought that the .org in a domain name was reserved or charities, non profits, etc. Is there any reason why a business for profit would set up their website with the .org name?

I am dealing with what in my opinion is a very shady law firm and that is the way it set up its website. No idea why though. Maybe its as simple as the .com domain name was already taken by someone else.

 

[Dback Jon]

The . org domain extension in a website URL stands for "organization." Originally intended for non-profit organizations, . org has since been expanded to include various types of entities, including for-profit organizations, educational institutions, community groups, and individuals.

 

[Dback Jon]

In March 2001, the Ethics Committee of the State Bar of Arizona issued Ethics Opinion 01-05, which discussed the limitations to which a law firm is subject when creating or using a website address for its law firm website. Among other conclusions, the Committee opined that a for-profit law firm may not use a domain name that contains the suffix “.org,” on the ground that such use “creates a false impression that the firm either is a non-profit or is in some way specifically affiliated with a non-profit.”

In light of the widespread use of the “.org” suffix by for-profit organizations in the years since Ariz. Ethics Op. 01-05 was issued, the Committee, reconsidering the matter in December 2011, concluded that the possibility that the public will be misled by a for-profit law firm’s use of “.org’ in its website address is remote, as a reasonable person, desiring to verify whether an entity is non-profit, would not rely solely on the entity’s website address.

Therefore, the mere use of “.org” by a for-profit law firm was declared not to be a violation of the Arizona Rules of Professional Conduct, and Opinion 01-05 was modified accordingly. Arizona lawyers were cautioned, however, that a lawyer or law firm may not use a domain name that falsely implies that the lawyer or law firm is affiliated with a particular non-profit organization or with a governmental entity or which otherwise is false or misleading.[24]

 

[Absolute Zero]

In March 2001, the Ethics Committee of the State Bar of Arizona issued Ethics Opinion 01-05, which discussed the limitations to which a law firm is subject when creating or using a website address for its law firm website. Among other conclusions, the Committee opined that a for-profit law firm may not use a domain name that contains the suffix “.org,” on the ground that such use “creates a false impression that the firm either is a non-profit or is in some way specifically affiliated with a non-profit.”

In light of the widespread use of the “.org” suffix by for-profit organizations in the years since Ariz. Ethics Op. 01-05 was issued, the Committee, reconsidering the matter in December 2011, concluded that the possibility that the public will be misled by a for-profit law firm’s use of “.org’ in its website address is remote, as a reasonable person, desiring to verify whether an entity is non-profit, would not rely solely on the entity’s website address.

Therefore, the mere use of “.org” by a for-profit law firm was declared not to be a violation of the Arizona Rules of Professional Conduct, and Opinion 01-05 was modified accordingly. Arizona lawyers were cautioned, however, that a lawyer or law firm may not use a domain name that falsely implies that the lawyer or law firm is affiliated with a particular non-profit organization or with a governmental entity or which otherwise is false or misleading.[24]

Wow, thank you! I hadn't thought about the ethical angle. I will see what we have here on that.

 

[bankybruce]

I worked at GoDaddy years ago. There were at the time very few restrictions on who could buy what TLD. Such as .CA, you have to psychically be in Canada and if their registered address wasn't Canada, the system wouldn't let us add it to the shopping cart. The .ORG TDL had not restrictions, but we would sell it up like it did. We'd say things like , "Google when list your non-profit higher is you have a .org" and crap like that. We knew it was BS, but people bought it. You could only register .CN from he Chinese government and .GOV was/is controlled by the US Government and back then use Network Solutions to house them. I am not sure if that is still the case, but that was a big time contract GoDaddy went after many time and even opened a lobbyist office in DC to try.

 

[oaken1]

I worked at GoDaddy years ago. There were at the time very few restrictions on who could buy what TLD. Such as .CA, you have to psychically be in Canada and if their registered address wasn't Canada, the system wouldn't let us add it to the shopping cart. The .ORG TDL had not restrictions, but we would sell it up like it did. We'd say things like , "Google when list your non-profit higher is you have a .org" and crap like that. We knew it was BS, but people bought it. You could only register .CN from he Chinese government and .GOV was/is controlled by the US Government and back then use Network Solutions to house them. I am not sure if that is still the case, but that was a big time contract GoDaddy went after many time and even opened a lobbyist office in DC to try.

well its kinda nice you only have to be psychically in canada instead of physically... really opens up the possibilities.

I also worked at GoDaddy many years back... thought ,org was strictly for informational sites