Re: What does it mean to be issued an IP address block? (Re: Newbie Questions: How-to monitor/control unauthorized uses of our IPs and DNS zones?)

["Anne P. Mitchell, Esq." <amitchell () isipp com>]

> On Aug 19, 2021, at 8:30 PM, John Curran <jcurran () arin net> wrote:
>
> [some parts read and omitted for brevity]
>
> ARIN is the successor operator of the registry database for the region, and we also recognize that some organizations 
> have obtained assignments of similar bundles of rights via implied contract under which recipients desired to 
> cooperate in (and gain the benefits of coordination from) the Internet Number Registry system in the period before 
> ARIN’s administration of the database.  ARIN provides such parties (“legacy resource holders”) and their legal 
> successors with the opportunity to formalize their rights (if they wish) via entry into ARIN's registration services 
> agreement.
>
> We have many cases where the rights to specific blocks have been treated as “property” of an estate during bankruptcy 
> or probate proceedings, and this should be no surprise - contractual rights have value and as such can be considered 
> part of an estate and transferred accordingly. It is worth noting that ARIN spends a bit of time engaging to make 
> sure that community policy is followed regarding such transfers and to date we have never had to update ARIN’s 
> database without adherence to our policies and entry into an RSA by the recipient.  
>
> If you think that the “IP address blocks” that you were issued are reflected by the listing of your organization on 
> that entry in the ARIN database, then all of the description above makes sense.   There are some other theories out 
> there about what constitutes an “IP address block” –  I’ve heard all manner of theories including 'rights to 
> integers’, 'reservations in routing tables’, and pretty much everything in between.  Diversity of views is a 
> wonderful thing, but I would advise some caution if someone offers to sell such ephemerally defined “IP address 
> blocks” to you – good luck, but remember that they don’t involve the ARIN database or its entries and one might find 
> them somewhat lacking as a result...

John, what an incredibly clear explanation! Thank you for taking the time!

Anne

--
Anne P. Mitchell, 
Attorney at Law
CEO Institute for Social Internet Public Policy (ISIPP)
Author: Section 6 of CAN-SPAM (The Affiliate Spam Section)
Board of Directors, Denver Internet Exchange
Chair Emeritus, Asilomar Microcomputer Workshop
Former Counsel: MAPS Anti-Spam Blacklist