Nominet UK is the
.uk domain name registry in the
United Kingdom, which was founded by Dr Willie Black and five others on 14 May 1996 when its predecessor, the "Naming Committee" was unable to deal with the volume of registrations then being sought under the .uk domain. Nominet is a non-profit
company limited by guarantee. It has members who act as
shareholders, but without the right to participate in the profits of the company. Anyone can become a member, but most members are
internet service providers who are also registrars. As one of the first professional
ccTLD operators, Nominet became the model for many other operators worldwide.