[ih] Some Questions over IPv4 Ownership

[Ernie Rubi]

Hi folks,

I am in the process of writing a research paper for an Internet Law seminar at FIU Law and have a few questions for those of you with enough institutional memory to remember how IPv4 address allocations were first handed out:

1.  Who 'owned' IP addresses ab initio?  Were IP addresses 'property' of any one entity or person or agency?  What is the authority ICANN /  IANA had to allocate these addresses if they are not 'theirs.'

2.  Initially, were large blocks of IPv4 addresses 'handed out' with a complete ownership interest to their recipients?  For example, when you received an /16, was it yours to transfer to 	      	other entities if you pleased?  Could you have transferred sub-allocations of your /16 to other entities who weren't your customers/connectors?

3.  Were the initial IPv4 allocations rolled into RIRs/ICANN at any point? If so, under what legal framework?

Thanks all for your thoughts/comments,

Ernesto M. Rubi
Sr. Network Engineer
AMPATH/CIARA
Florida International Univ, Miami
Reply-to: ernesto at cs.fiu.edu

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