[tlp-interest] Re: ALAC Position on the Proposed Amendment to IETF IPMC Bylaws

[Russ Housley <[e-mail]>]

I have been told that the tlp-interest mail list strips attachments, so I am sending the body of the attachement so the the nore is available to anyone with an interest.

Russ

= = = = = = = = = =

4 December 2025

Greg Shatan, Hans Petter Holen, and Russ Housley
IANA IPR Community Coordination Group Chairs

Re: ALAC Position on the Proposed Amendment to IETF IPMC Bylaws

Dear Greg, Hans Petter, and Russ,

On 02 October 2025, the IETF Intellectual Property Management Corporation (IPMC) Directors
opened a public consultation period on the Proposed Amendment to IETF IPMC Bylaws. The
At-Large Consolidated Policy Working Group reviewed the Proposed Amendment to IETF IPMC
Bylaws and decided it would be in the interest of end users to write a letter to the IANA IPR
CCG and explain the ALAC position on the Proposed Amendment to IETF IPMC Bylaws.
Please find the ALAC comments below and consider sharing them with the IPMC Directors
([e-mail]) as appropriate.

1.  The ICANN At Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) supports the revision of the IETF IPMC
Bylaws as posted to the IETF IPMC website, subject to the IANA IPR Community Coordination
Group (CCG) as a whole, as well as the IETF IPMC Directors (IETF Trustees) and their
appointing bodies, agreeing to the same text.

Accordingly, the ALAC supports the transfer of the IANA IPRs and the assignment of related
licenses and other agreements from the IETF Trust to the IPMC.

The ALAC notes that there are numerous other issues with these Bylaws as currently drafted,
which have been brought to the attention of the IETF IPMC by the CCG or members of the
CCG. While these issues do not need to be resolved prior to the completion of the transfer of
the IANA IPRs and related agreements, the ALAC strongly encourages the IETF IPMC to
amend the Bylaws to resolve these issues expeditiously after the completion of the transfer in
order to ensure that the governance of the IETF IPMC under the Bylaws is as clear and
unambiguous as possible.

On a related note, the ALAC supports the request by the IETF Administration LLC (on the
IETF’s tlp-interest email list) to remove Section 4.1 of the Bylaws; the references to
“Beneficiary” and “Settlors,” as well as the succession mechanism set out in Section 4.1, as
they are inappropriate for these corporate bylaws and could have unintended consequences.
The ALAC notes, however, that this deletion would require other changes to the Bylaws (e.g.,
relating to other references to Beneficiary and Settlors), underlining the ALAC’s
recommendation that the remaining issues with the Bylaws be resolved as soon as possible.

2.  The ALAC wishes to note its disappointment with the manner in which this matter has been
handled at certain points during the past two years. Specifically, the failure to communicate
with and get approval from the CCG before the IANA IPR was assigned from the Trust to the
IPMC was regrettable. This was compounded by the failure of the Trust to ensure that it
thereafter had rights to the IANA IPRs sufficient to support its ongoing licenses of the IANA IPR
to ICANN. The shortcomings of the IETF IPMC Bylaws as originally drafted (and only partially
resolved by the pending amendments) were unfortunately consistent with these earlier
missteps. In retrospect, it has also become clear that the Trust should have consulted the CCG
before the creation of the IPMC itself, when the plan to transfer and “re-house” the IANA IPR
was first being considered.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Zuck,
Chair, At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC)

= = = = = = = = = =


> On Dec 8, 2025, at 10:47 AM, Russ Housley <[e-mail]> wrote:
> 
> Sharing comments that were sent to the CCG to make the visible to the whole community.
> 
> Russ
> 
> 
>> From: Ozan Sahin <[e-mail]>
>> Subject: ALAC Position on the Proposed Amendment to IETF IPMC Bylaws
>> Date: December 4, 2025 at 4:05:39 PM EST
>> To: "[e-mail]" <[e-mail]>, "[e-mail]" <[e-mail]>, "[e-mail]" <[e-mail]>
>> Cc: "[e-mail]" <[e-mail]>, Jonathan Zuck <[e-mail]>, John Jeffrey <[e-mail]>, "ICANN At-Large Staff" <[e-mail]>
>> 
>> Dear co-chairs of the IANA IPR CCG,
>>  
>> Please find attached a letter from the ALAC chair Jonathan Zuck regarding the ALAC Position on the Proposed Amendment to IETF IPMC Bylaws.
>>  
>> Best regards,
>> ALAC support staff
>>  
> <ALAC Correspondence on Proposed Amendment to IETF IPMC Bylaws.pdf>
>