> Subject: Re: And so it ends... > From: Ernie Rubi <erne...@cs.fiu.edu> > Date: Thu, 3 Feb 2011 16:08:50 -0500 > To: David Conrad <d...@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. >