APNIC Member Meeting Seoul, Korea, 3 March 2000

APNIC Open Address policy Meeting

Discussion Paper: Implementation of Internet Resource Leasing Policy

1. Motivation

The new APNIC policy document APNIC-076 contains provisions that resource allocations and assignments should be made only on a "lease" basis (section 6.6 and 7.2). A leasing system will provide an unambiguous mechanism for management of resource allocations and for meaningful development of resource management policies in the future.

The leasing provisions of the new policy document have not yet been implemented by APNIC, as we feel more discussion is now needed on the exact terms and implementation of resource leasing.

2. Background

Historically, allocations of Internet resources have been made on an unclear basis with respect to whether the allocated resource is actually "owned" by the recipient. In the case of allocations made by the InterNIC and by the early RIRs, address allocations are often regarded as the "freehold property" of the organisations which hold them. Since the time of these allocations, the issue of title to resource allocations has evolved with the registry system; however, this has not necessarily been consistent or systematic.

Over the past decade, policies under which resources are allocated and managed have also changed, especially with respect to resource utilisation, sub-allocation, and database registration requirements. While new policies are imposed upon new allocations, it may be difficult to impose new policies on old allocations, especially where "freehold title" may exist.

Attempts to sell Internet address resources have become common in recent years, and actual sales are likely to have happened already, in spite of the practice being regarded as unacceptable by the Internet community. In the absence of enforceable policies, unauthorised transfers and "black market" sales of Internet resources will continue, and will result in even greater ambiguity in terms of ownership and management of the resources.

To date, no disputes involving questions of ownership, transfer or management of Internet address resources have been tested in court, however any determination by the courts is likely to be in accordance with property law. Such rulings, which may set important precedents (and which may vary from one jurisdiction to another), may not be consistent with the best management practices and conservation of Internet resources, unless a clear and unambiguous allocation framework can be established.

3. Current Status

APNIC is currently making allocations to members as a membership service, but the status of such allocations may still be ambiguous in terms of the member's legal title to the allocated resources. While expiry of APNIC membership can result in withdrawal of resources, this may be challengeable where resources are deemed to have been allocated on a freehold basis. Furthermore, future changes to address management policies may not be enforceable in relation to resources which are allocated today.

APNIC is also currently supporting the use of Internet resources by non-members, both through assignments to non-members and as an indirect result of membership expiry. In this case, no agreement of any kind exists to govern the usage of those resources.

4. Discussion

In establishing a leasing mechanism, the terms or conditions of a resource lease need to be established. The following conditions may be attached to resource leases:

Subject of leases
A resource lease is a document relating to the use of a particular resource by a particular organisation. The resource may be a block of IP addresses (IPv4 or IPv6), a block of Autonomous System numbers, or any other resource administered by APNIC. The organisation may be a member or non-member of APNIC.

Lease renewal
In general, leaseholders should not have to reapply for address space leases, or make any special effort to renew a lease. Rather, leases should be automatically renewed providing that leaseholders continue to comply with the conditions of their lease.

Lease conditions
The most important condition of a resource lease will be compliance by the leaseholder with current resource management policies. While policy changes which take place during the term of a lease may not be immediately enforceable, they will become active on renewal of the lease, as a condition of the new lease.

Lease duration
Leases should have a duration which is seen to balance the need for security on the part of the leaseholder with the ability to enforce changes to policy within a reasonable time of the change being made.

Certification

The use of a standardised certification system to represent resource leases (for instance using X.509 attribute certificates*) would provide a standards-based means for third parties to verify the right of an organisation to make use of an Internet resource. This may be utilised for authentication purposes by routing registries or by routers, or by people involved with network diagnosis and security activities.

[* see ftp://ftp.apnic.net/ietf/rfc/rfc2000/rfc2459.txt]

5. Recommendations

While introduction of a resource leasing model is a significant step in the development of resource management policies, it should not be seen as a fundamental change in the basic goals or functions of the registry system. Rather, it provides a mechanism by which those goals can be assured, in the clear interests of the Internet community worldwide.

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