[arin-ppml] Fw: Accusationof fundamentalconflictofinterest/IPaddress policypitched directly to ICANN

[Mike Burns]

>You are correct, however, that by the time ICANN was formed in 1998 it
>was clearly understood that IANA was to be operated per the IETF RFCs
>which placed the RIRs in the driver's seat. Mike would do well to
>understand that neither ICANN nor DOC is empowered to act on
>complaints other than about the RIRs' non-compliance with the RIR's
>own policies or non-compliance with the relevant RFCs. The Depository
>folks would do well to understand that too.

>Regards,
>Bill Herrin



Hi Bill,

If your interpretation is correct, then the request from Depository will die 
due to lack of authority at ICANN.
Maybe that has already happened, as Owen noted there is no evidence that 
they have acted in any way except asking for input from ARIN at some earlier 
point.
But this may end up in a court that doesn't care as much about the internal 
policies of entities as it does about interpreting contract law.
Contracts are few and far between at this level, which seems littered with 
MoAs and other non-contractual agreements.
I'm no lawyer, I merely state that as a possibility.
I have learned enough about governance at that level to think that the 
environment is fluid, with some precendents still waiting to be set.

In any case, as I said before, private registries are a means to an end for 
me, the end being a free market in IPv4 transfers.

And I guess there is some mechanism to change the ICP-2, so perhaps private 
registries will emerge through that process.
I encourage that because I believe competing registries will be good for 
market efficiencies and innovations over time.

In the meantime, the thrust of my discussion here was the alignment of ARIN 
policy with APNIC policy related to IPv4 transfers, and I am overdue with a 
draft proposal to that end.
So on the issue of private registries and the issue of who is authoritative, 
I am going to sit back and watch what happens, if anything, with the 
Depository appeal, and spare the list more tendentious discussion.

Regards,

Mike