Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1998 20:48:52 -0400 From: "Steven J. Sobol" <sjsobol@nacs.net> To: Kate Lance <clance@connect.com.au> Cc: nanog@merit.edu, cgomes@internic.net Subject: Re: Director Database Marketing (Herndon VA US) (http://www.saic.com/career/jobs/c5

On Thu, Sep 03, 1998 at 10:18:20AM +1000, Kate Lance wrote:

...

And here is the breathtaking job description:

Director Database Marketing Job Description: Senior professional responsible for devising and executing programs in direct Marketing customer intimacy, and new product development using the date and information assets of NSI. At heart of the Internet & registration of nearly 2 million .com, .org, .net addresses, NSI is positioned to assist its customers by introducing products and services designed to suit their needs. Director will "own" the information assets of the company and employ them to drive revenue.

Did the idiots at SAIC forget that they don't *own* the domain information again?

And, what makes you think that NSI doesn't have intellectual property rights to the whois database. Again, please frame your answer in the context of the applicable Federal law and regulations, probably the FARs and the contract or cooperative agreement between NSI and the NSF. And, even if NSI doesn't "own" rights (either copyright or trade secret) to the whois database, what makes you think that NSI must provide the database to anyone else? And, if NSI is obligated to provide the database to another party, (e.g., the U.S. Government), what makes you think that that party is permitted or obligated to provide it to another party? I don't know that the answers are to these questions, but I haven't met anyone who I thought had a clue either. -tjs