Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1998 18:57:57 -0700 (PDT)
From: Patrick Greenwell <patrick@namesecure.com>
To: Tim Salo <salo@networkcs.com>
cc: nanog@merit.edu
Subject: Re: Director Database Marketing (Herndon VA US) (http://www.saic.com/career/jobs/c5> > Did the idiots at SAIC forget that they don't *own* the domain information
> > again?
>
> And, what makes you think that NSI doesn't have intellectual property
> rights to the whois database. Again, please frame your answer in the
> context of the applicable Federal law and regulations, probably the
> FARs and the contract or cooperative agreement between NSI and the NSF.
>
> And, even if NSI doesn't "own" rights (either copyright or trade secret) to
> the whois database, what makes you think that NSI must provide the
> database to anyone else? And, if NSI is obligated to provide the database
> to another party, (e.g., the U.S. Government), what makes you think that
> that party is permitted or obligated to provide it to another party?
>
> I don't know that the answers are to these questions, but I haven't met
> anyone who I thought had a clue either.Take a look at http://www.cavebear.com/nsf-dns/ for some answers (or more
questions depending on your POV.)
Note that Karl's document:
o Is focused on whether the whois database is within the purview of
the Privacy Act of 1974, but doesn't directly address the ownership
of the whois database;
o Doesn't discuss the relevance of the FARs, which explicitly talk
about the ownership rights of government contractors; and
o Says that the NSF asserts that NSI owns the whois database.
-tjs