And so it ends...

Thu Feb 3 20:22:28 UTC 2011

On Feb 3, 2011, at 3:02 PM, Jay Ashworth wrote:

> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "John Curran" <jcurran at arin.net>
> 
>> On Feb 3, 2011, at 2:34 PM, Jay Ashworth wrote:
>>> I strongly suspect that his question is actually "Does ARIN have any
>>> enforceable legal authority to compel an entity to cease using a
>>> specific block of address space, absent a contract?"
>> 
>> ARIN has the authority to manage its database, and does so according to
>> the community developed policies. This includes changing the entries
>> which designate the address holder, and specify that there is now a new
>> address holder.
>> 
>> None of this has to do with how entities configure their routers or
>> servers.
> 
> Sure it does.  If best common practice is for network operators to get
> address space from ARIN, and someone gets a block from you that you've
> supposedly adversely taken back from, say, Goldman Sachs, and starts
> using it, then *someone* is going to drink your milkshake, whether it be
> the new user or the old one.

To be clear, that's not ARIN "legally compelling an entity to cease using 
a specific block of address space"  We've never claimed that authority,
and I'm not aware of any entity that does claim such authority to compel
organizations to make router and system configuration changes.  We do 
claim authority to manage the database as part of our organizational 
mission.

/John

John Curran
President and CEO
ARIN