> > Do you suppose that if a Microsoft salesman had given me a free copy > > of Windows back in 1990, I would have a right to use any version of > > Windows for free forever? > > I don't think this analogy exactly fits. I'm pretty sure that the legacy > space holders think of this as: a Microsoft salesman had given them > a free copy of Windows back in 1990, and had returned many years later > to say that MS had established a registry for all new recipients of > Windows that charged a registration fee, and MS wanted them to start paying > the fee for the free copy as well.
Regardless of what the legacy space users think, if the RIRs decided to sign certificates for use in BGP route for a small fee to recover costs, and if those legacy space holders wish to make use of this new service (like a new version of Windows) then they have to sign up and pay the fees. The fact that they once received a free service does not entitle them to receive *ALL* services for free *FOREVER*. Perhaps this discussion should move to http://www.groklaw.net where people who understand how law works could comment on it. In any case, the bottom line is that the existence of a few legacy space users should not prevent us from leveraging the RIRs to sign certificates, run route registries, run the in-addr.arpa domain etc. --Michael Dillon