US CODE: Title 15, Chapter 1, Section 2.

[Dick desJardins]

Although I am not a lawyer, this seems pretty silly to me.

The IP address space itself belongs to the Federal government,
I believe.  The fee is not for the address, the fee is for
administering the allocation of the address, which the Federal
government has made available to the Internet community at
no charge (in fact, the Federal government has added millions
of dollars value-added to get the Internet community naming and
addressing administration to work fairly and in full visibility and
control by we the people of the Internet community).

Dick
----


At 12:17 AM -0500 1/31/97, Tim Bass wrote:
>USCODE Title 15: Chapter 1: Section 2:
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>ß 2. Monopolizing trade a felony; penalty
>
>Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or
>conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of
>the trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations,
>shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, on conviction thereof, shall be
>punished by fine not exceeding $10,000,000 if a corporation, or, if any
>other person, $350,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding three years, or by
>both said punishments, in the discretion of the court.
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Opinion:  IP address space cannot be monopolized nor commercialize because
>          it is a national resource.  Those planning to charege for it might
>	  consider if they believe Title 15:1:2 applies to a national  and
>          scarce resource, such as IP address space.
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>USCODE Title 15: Chapter 1: Section 1:
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>ß 1. Trusts, etc., in restraint of trade illegal; penalty
>
>Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or
>conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or
>with
>foreign nations, is declared to be illegal. Every person who shall make
>any contract or engage in any combination or conspiracy hereby declared to
>be illegal shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, on conviction thereof,
>shall be punished by fine not exceeding $10,000,000 if a corporation, or,
>if
>any other person, $350,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding three years,
>or by both said punishments, in the discretion of the court.
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Opinion:  Forming a trust to sell a national resource, such as IP address
>          space  without competition, fixing a price might be considered
>          a violation under federal code.
>
>
>Action:   Request a formal advisory from both the Department of Justice
>	  and the Federal Trade Commission.
>
>
>In my humble opinion, attempts by Network Solutions, Inc. to form
>NAIPR and to require a fee for IP address space may violate these
>federal codes.
>
>Best Regards,
>
>Tim Bass
>
>-------
>mailto:bass at silkroad.com          voice (703) 222-4243
>http://www.silkroad.com/            fax (703) 222-7320


Dick desJardins
EOS Network Manager
GSFC Code 505, Greenbelt MD  20771
Phone 301-614-5329        FAX  -5267