RE: [registrars] Code of conduct & anti-trust issues

["Ross Wm. Rader" <ross@tucows.com>]

> It is not clear who would have standing under any adopted 
> Code of Conduct.  
> For example, customers and resellers might use it to sue a registrar.

Ask your legal counsel about the concept of "privity". IANAL, so I'm not
even going to try, but here is something that Google turned up.

"One sure sign of the personal nature of contracts is that no one but
one of the parties can go to court and enforce the contract even if the
contract was to operate to a third party's benefit. This is known as the
"privity of contract" rule."
http://www.duhaime.org/ca-con2.htm

Google, of course, is not a good substitute for professional legal
advice.


                       -rwr




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> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-registrars@dnso.org 
> [mailto:owner-registrars@dnso.org] On Behalf Of Michael Bilow
> Sent: Tuesday, August 27, 2002 9:59 PM
> To: Robert F. Connelly
> Cc: Registrar Constituency
> Subject: Re: [registrars] Code of conduct & anti-trust issues
> 
> 
> On 2002-08-27 at 14:42 -0700, Robert F. Connelly wrote:
> 
> > At 03:57 PM 8/27/02 -0400, Jim Archer wrote:
> > >to what extent if any, the CoC constitutes an anti-competitive 
> > >business
> > >practice?
> > 
> > Dear Jim:  If we used it to cut off a registrar, it would be a
> > problem:-(  Regards, BobC
> 
> It is not clear who would have standing under any adopted 
> Code of Conduct.  
> For example, customers and resellers might use it to sue a registrar.
> 
> The essence of anti-competitive behavior arises long before 
> anyone is cut off, but rather inheres in the discussions 
> ("conspiracy") leading to the attempt as well.  What I think 
> Jim is pointing out is that there is a lot of unknown 
> complexity with potential anti-trust implications, such as 
> disparate effects upon larger versus smaller registrars, or 
> newer versus older registrars.  Any Code of Conduct is, by 
> definition, a manipulation of the marketplace, and is 
> therefore necessarily suspect.
> 
> My opinion, for what it may be worth, is that this is a minefield.
> 
> -- Mike
> 
>