The Trustees are seeking community feedback on proposed language changes to the IETF Trust Agreement. <http://trustee.ietf.org/docs/IETF-Trust-Agreement-Executed-12-15-05.pdf>
On 3 August the Trustees requested feedback from the community on some changes to the powers of the Trustees in the IETF Trust Agreement. Our conclusion from that feedback is that there is not community support for changing Trust authority with regard to granting of licenses, however there is support for disposing of physical assets and trademarks with appropriate controls. You may recall these issues from the 3 August email: Issue 1 We cannot currently accept physical assets like hardware donations into the trust. Once accepted into the trust, we would be unable to dispose of these items in the future if they are identified as no longer being needed. - This removes flexibility in managing assets in the trust, and we currently use alternative methods of accepting donations outside of the trust. Issue 2 Once a domain name or trademark is registered by the trust, it cannot be abandoned even if it is no longer needed. - We must maintain these in perpetuity based on legal counsel review of the current language Here is the relevant Trust provision: ARTICLE VII. POWERS, RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF TRUSTEES 7.1 Powers and Obligations of Trustees. (a) Except as limited by this Agreement, the Trustees shall have all powers granted by law and shall be responsible for and may take such actions as are required to assure the effective day-to-day operation of the Trust. However, except as otherwise expressly permitted hereunder, the Trustees shall not, and shall not have the right or power to, (i) exchange, distribute, assign, sell, transfer, renounce, or convey, the Trust Assets, (ii) terminate the Trust Assets’ registration, or (iii) enter into a license for, grant an option on, or encumber the Trust Assets that is not in compliance with the provisions of Section 9.5. Accordingly we are proposing the following change by adding the following language to the end of this provision: "except that in the case of clauses (i) and (ii), the Trustees may, after due consultation with the Beneficiary, dispose of, assign, sell, transfer, renounce, convey or terminate Trust Assets that are of no current or foreseeable future value to the Beneficiary and which require the expenditure of funds to retain. This exception does not include RFCs." Thank you for your consideration and we look forward to getting your feedback. Ole Jacobsen Chair, IETF Trust
