Re: Registries and iTLDs

[David Collier-Brown <davecb@Canada.Sun.COM>]

Karl Denninger wrote:
> If NO COMPANY may profit in this fashion, then the grant of the namespace to
> NSF became invalid when you were issued the original cooperative agreement
> specifying that you could impose fees, and you ratified that invalidity when
> you in fact DID impose fees.
> 
> That the ISOC failed to act, as did the IANA, is not germane to the point
> that either TLDs can be owned or they cannot.
> 
> If they can, then you and *every other firm that wants to run one* has a
> legal right and claim to do so. 

  This actually breaks down into three questions: can one grant
ownership of a  namespace, can you charge fees and is there
a limit on the fees.

  The first is an open question: I suspect the answer is no and
will argue that point, but I have seen NSI and contributors to
this list assuming it.

  The second and third are trivially answerable if a namespace
is owned: ``of course'', and ``whatever the market will bear''.  It's
both private property and a monopoly.  AKA a license to print
money.

  The second and third are arguably yes and yes if the namespace is
managed in trust by some responsible body.  A body like the NSF,
which desires **not** to be responsible for the namespace, has
little justification in setting policy, including charging policy,
for such a namespace.

  At the same time, I wouldn't care to waste my time and money
overturning a contract with a short life and no guarantee of
renewal.  I suspect it would run out before I even got to court.


>                                   Including each and every operational
> registry for the experimental domains today, in a FCFS order for those which
> are constructively and ACTUALLY online.


  I think that's a seperate question: if namespaces can be owned,
and if they are hierarchical in nature, who owns the top one?  I'd
suspect the king of the world (:-))  In his absence, I'd settle for
cousin 'Liz.

--dave (:-)) c-b
-- 
David Collier-Brown,  | Always do right. This will gratify some people
185 Ellerslie Ave.,   | astonish the rest.        -- Mark Twain
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