<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META NAME="Generator" CONTENT="MS Exchange Server version 5.5.2657.73">
<TITLE>RE: Can a customer take IP's with them?</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Hello Alex,</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>> > In other words, customer is asking a court to rule whether </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> > or not IP space should be portable, when an industry-</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> > supported organization (ARIN) has made policy that the </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> > space is in fact not portable. It can be further argued that </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> > the court could impose a TRO that would potentially negatively</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> > affect the operation of my network.</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> A court will likely decide this based upon the terms of </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> your contract and what the court thinks is fair. They will </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> likely give very little consideration to common practice or </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> ARIN's rules.</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>That's the crux of the biscuit. Your case depends on whether you</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>provided for this in your contract with the customer. If its missing,</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>you have a big challenge on your hands. No RFC or ARIN policy is a </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>binding legal document. If its there, your chances are much better. </FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>So, do you discuss non-portable address space assignment in your </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>contract?</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Where was this case filed? NJ or federal court?</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Do let us know how it turns out. This will establish a key legal </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>precedent.</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Chris</FONT>
</P>
</BODY>
</HTML>