Subject: Is InterNIC the Registry or NSI

From: "Jim Fleming" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 14 Jul 1998 16:08:47 -0500

-----Original Message-----
From: Christopher Ambler <[email-masked]>

>So, please give me a SINGLE reason to mandate non-profit if, once
>you contractually eliminate pricing problems, they're indistinguishable
>from each other.
>

Chris,

You might want to get a letter ruling from the IRS before
you say that for-profit and non-profit registries are the
same. That ruling may boil down to whether the InterNIC
is for-profit or not and whether NSI is the registry or just
a contractor to handle the registry.

If NSI is the registry then we have a clear case that the
domain registry business is a business "ordinarily carried
on for profit". Given that, I am not sure the IRS would endorse
allowing ANY non-profit domain name registries in the U.S.
In other words the decision may already be made.
Non-profit registries may be illegal. Why would U.S. citizens
and businesses be advocating policies that result in the
law being broken ?

http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/bus_info/eo/index.html

http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/bus_info/eo/bus-orgs.html

@@@@ http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/bus_info/eo/bl-req.html

"No part of its net earnings may inure to the benefit of any private
shareholder or individual and it may not be organized for profit or
organized to engage in an activity ordinarily carried on for profit
(even if the business is operated on a cooperative basis or produces
only sufficient income to be self-sustaining)."

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Actually, maybe the people that should be getting the
letter ruling are those people advocating non-profit
domain name registries. They may want to check to
see if they are able to get that past the IRS BEFORE
they start telling everyone that is what the rule should
be.

Did the IAHC obtain a letter ruling from the IRS
on this matter ?

Jim Fleming
Unir Corporation - http://www.unir.com