Sorry about the html. ^%$%&*.! -----Original Message----- From: owner-nanog@merit.edu [mailto:owner-nanog@merit.edu]On Behalf Of Chris Ranch Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2004 10:12 AM To: 'alex@nac.net' Cc: nanog@nanog.org Subject: RE: Can a customer take IP's with them? Hello Alex,

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In other words, customer is asking a court to rule whether or not IP space should be portable, when an industry- supported organization (ARIN) has made policy that the space is in fact not portable. It can be further argued that the court could impose a TRO that would potentially negatively affect the operation of my network.

A court will likely decide this based upon the terms of your contract and what the court thinks is fair. They will likely give very little consideration to common practice or ARIN's rules.

That's the crux of the biscuit. Your case depends on whether you provided for this in your contract with the customer. If its missing, you have a big challenge on your hands. No RFC or ARIN policy is a binding legal document. If its there, your chances are much better. So, do you discuss non-portable address space assignment in your contract? Where was this case filed? NJ or federal court? Do let us know how it turns out. This will establish a key legal precedent. Chris