[ih] Some Questions over IPv4 Ownership

[Ernie Rubi]

Thanks, on my way to the library for the book.

ARIN has these Legacy RSA's that they want folks to sign; although I don't know who would if they were trying to make a case that IP addresses were "theirs."  ARIN also has told me that IP addresses 'don't belong to anyone.' 

That last statement I find funny - a legal entity (ARIN) contracts to allocate/assign IP addresses that it doesn't 'own' but says you can't give the IP addresses it assigns you to others.  

ARIN also says you can get in legal trouble for prefix hijacking, although those who have the IP address don't 'own' it and ARIN doesn't 'own' it.  It seems that the only legal claims could be brought by the US government (or whomever was the 'contractor' for IPv4 address development).

Wonder if Vint Cerf is around these parts to shed some more insight on the legal aspect of v4 'ownership.'  This research paper was inspired in part by the IGF talk/exchange on IPv4 'markets' that he was part of just last month.

Ernie

On Oct 11, 2010, at 5:52 PM, Eric Gade wrote:

> I'm no expert on IP addressing issues, but you may want to consult Laura DeNardis' new-ish book Protocol Politics.
> 
> I think, however, you're going to get into murky territory when it comes to attributing the legal status of these things early on.  But I believe the basic idea is this: because TCP/IP was created at (at first used by) DDN/ARPA, the administrative authorities for those networks distributed the addresses (IANA was really just Postel under contract with the DoD, though it is my understanding that the NIC had this duty for a while).
> 
> In terms of issues with distribution of large IP address blocks of different classes, again, DeNardis does a really good job breaking it down in her book.  It's a quick read too -- you can probably pound through it in a day.
> 
> On Mon, Oct 11, 2010 at 9:59 PM, Ernie Rubi <ernesto at cs.fiu.edu> wrote:
> 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
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Eric


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