A message posted to NANOG on Monday outlines a case in which a New Jersey judge has issued a temporary restraining order against the an ISP preventing them from restricting a customer from taking their IP address space with them to a new ISP. The issues the ISP raises are important, but after reading the affidavits filed by the plaintiff (a web-hoisting company), it seems the fears of the Internet collapsing as customers everywhere seek to make addressing portable are a little overstated.

The plaintiff only seeks to ensure that they have continued access to the IP address space until they are able to convert their remaining customers to new addresses. They claim that pressure tactics, including steep price increases and the unilateral changing of payment terms by the ISP forced them to seek an alternative provider.

Certainly the judge should be careful to ensure this is only a temporary arrangement.