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North American Network Operators Group Date Prev | Date Next | Date Index | Thread Index | Author Index | Historical Re: [Fwd: Kremen VS Arin Antitrust Lawsuit - Anyone have feedback?]
Thus spake Brandon Galbraith Not that I'm aware of, but I've never looked. I'm sure ARIN's lawyers have.Two questions regarding thisfor the list (slightly OT): 1) Has any sort of IP address ownership precedence been set in a US court? The entire suit is predicated on the concept that IP addresses can be owned and traded like other property. The rest is a house of cards that will fall if ARIN can prove that to be incorrect -- and will probably stand if they can't.2) Isn't ARIN considered a non-profit resource management/allocation organization? To my knowledge, there is no "marketplace" for IPs. Also, any technical expert can rip about half of the house down without breaking a sweat because it's so flawed to the point of being entertaining. It'd be fun to read the transcripts if this ever goes to trial, but my money says it'll be decided one way or the other before it actually makes it into a courtroom. The wording of Kremen's argument made me understand why ARIN is so resistant to using the term "rent" for their activities, because that implies that there is property exchanging hands. Courts have jurisdiction over property, though it's a minefield to try to dictate who someone must rent to. Keeping the words in registry-speak allows them to differentiate the situation and insist that addresses are not property at all. The anti-trust angle is interesting, but even if ARIN were found to be one, it's hard to convince people that a _non-profit_ monopoly acting in the public interest is a bad thing. The debate there will be around the preferential treatment that larger ARIN members get (in terms of larger allocations, lower per address fees, etc), which Kremen construes as being anticompetitive via creating artificial barriers to entry. That may end up being changed. S Stephen Sprunk "God does not play dice." --Albert Einstein CCIE #3723 "God is an inveterate gambler, and He throws the K5SSS dice at every possible opportunity." --Stephen Hawking
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