[ I've ignored most of the email on the secondary market ]

On Tue, Jul 18, 2006 at 04:12:45PM +0000, Kim Davies wrote:
> Quoting Charlie McCormack on Tuesday July 18, 2006:
> | 
> | It could be argued they are selling Intellectual Property they have no right
> | to.
> | [..]
> | So then don't they only administer a records system, which they charge an
> | administration fee, which then means they also have no rights to these
> | domain names, so then aren't the restrictions illegal, and could they be
> | [..]
> 
> It is important to remember you are being sold a fixed term license to a
> domain name, not the domain name itself. You are not sold a domain name
> and you do not own it, you are merely licensed it. The license allows
> you to nominate data (NS records) to place in auDA's zone file.

You can buy a 'vanity plate' (at least from the NSW RTA), for a fixed
term, and you can also transfer it to others. You don't own the plate, 
you license it.

The license allows you to nominate the data (vehicle, holder, etc.) to
be placed in the RTA database. Their is a secondary market for license
plates (at least in NSW).

Just because you are licenced something doesn't mean a secondary market
is not viable (taxi plates are another good example in NSW).

All that being said, one of the nicer things about the .au DNS is that
it isn't full of junk names and crap (or at least, someone has to go to
the effort of registering a business name to obtain it).

That policy has kept the namespace relatively "trustable", and as a
consumer it'd be something I'd want to continue to be in place. However
relaxing the rules regarding transfer (especially between entites who
acquiring one another) who be welcome.

Anand

-- 
 `` We are shaped by our thoughts, we become what we think.
 When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never
 leaves. '' -- Buddha, The Dhammapada