Subject: Re: And so it ends... From: Ernie Rubi <ernesto@cs.fiu.edu> Date: Thu, 3 Feb 2011 16:08:50 -0500 To: David Conrad <drc@virtualized.org> Cc: NANOG list <nanog@nanog.org>
Way off topic here...and into the legal arena:
As to the monopoly classification, do you think, at least with ARIN (since it is a US/Virginia corporation) that Sherman Act 2 (i.e. antitrust) principles could be applied to require that it relinquish some of the control over said IP space/database and act in a more competitive manner?
Abssolutely *NOT*. their unique status derives from the actions of a contractor "faithfully executing" it's duties on the behalf of the U.S. Gov't. 'Antitrust' does not apply to the Gov't, nor to those acting on its behalf, nor to anyone operating a government-sanctioned monopoly.
What about the other RIRs worldwide?
They're outside U.S. jurisdiction. Sherman Acg 2 is irrelevant to their operation. Even _if_ they were held to be subject to U.S. jurisdiction the prior logic would apply to them as well.
I'm not an antitrust lawyer,
Obvously. <grin>
but there may be an issue there.
nope.
No. First, "IANA" does not exist. The term "IANA" now refers to a series of functions currently performed under contract from the US Dept. of Commerce, NTIA by ICANN. As such it can't declare anything.