Network Working Group                             ISOC Board of Trustees
Request for Comments: 2134                                          ISOC
Category: Informational                                       April 1997

                       ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION
                                   OF
                            INTERNET SOCIETY

Status of this Memo

   This memo provides information for the Internet community.  This memo
   does not specify an Internet standard of any kind.  Distribution of
   this memo is unlimited.

Abstract

   These are the articles of incorporation of the Internet Society.
   They are published for the information of the IETF community at the
   request of the poisson working group.

1. ISOC articles of incorporation

   To:    Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs
          Washington, D.C.  20001

       We, the undersigned natural persons of the age of eighteen years
   or more, acting as incorporators of a corporation, adopt the
   following Articles of Incorporation for such corporation pursuant to
   the District of Columbia Non-Profit Corporation Act:

   1. The name of the corporation is Internet Society.

   2. The period of its duration is perpetual.

   3. The purpose or purposes for which the corporation is organized are
      as follows:

          To be a non-profit corporation (without capital stock), which
      shall be operated exclusively for educational, charitable and
      scientific purposes.  Such educational, charitable, and scientific
      purposes shall include carrying on activities:

      A. To facilitate and support the technical evolution of the
         Internet as a research and education infrastructure, and to
         stimulate the involvement of the scientific community,
         industry, government and others in the evolution of the
         Internet;

      B. To educate the scientific community, industry and the public at
         large concerning the technology, use and application of the
         Internet;

      C. To promote educational applications of Internet technology for
         the benefit of government, colleges and universities, industry,
         and the public at large;

      D. To provide a forum for exploration of new Internet
         applications, and to stimulate collaboration among
         organizations in their operational use of the global Internet.

          To exercise all the powers conferred upon corporations formed
      under the District of Columbia Non-Profit Corporation Act in order
      to accomplish the corporation's educational, charitable and
      scientific purposes; and to take other actions necessary or
      convenient to effect any or all of the purposes for which the
      corporation is organized.

   4. The corporation shall not issue any capital stock.

   5. The corporation shall have classes of members, and the
      qualifications and rights of the members, including any right to
      vote, shall be as provided in the by-laws.

   6. The board of directors of the corporation shall be known as the
      Board of Trustees. Except for the initial Board of Trustees, whose
      names are set forth in these Articles of Incorporation, the manner
      in which the Trustees are to be elected or appointed shall be as
      provided in the by-laws.

   7. Provisions for the regulation of the internal affairs of the
      corporation, including provisions for the distribution of assets
      on dissolution or liquidation, are:

      A. No part of the net earnings of the corporation shall inure to
         the benefit of, or be distributable to, any of the Trustees or
         officers or members of the corporation, or any other person,
         except that the corporation shall be authorized and empowered
         to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered. No
         substantial part of the activities of the corporation shall be
         the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting, to
         influence legislation. The corporation shall not participate
         in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing
         of statements), any political campaign on behalf of any
         candidate for public office.

      B. The Articles of Incorporation may be amended by the affirmative
         vote of at least four-fifths of the members of the Board of
         Trustees then in office, except that unanimous consent of the
         members of the Board of Trustees then in office shall be
         required for any amendment of this Article 7.

      C. Upon the liquidation, dissolution, or winding up of the
         corporation, after all of its liabilities and obligations have
         been paid, satisfied and discharged, or adequate provision has
         been made therefor, all of the assets of the corporation shall
         be distributed exclusively for such educational, charitable and
         scientific purposes as the Trustees (or such other persons as
         may be in charge of liquidation) shall determine, provided that
         such distributions shall be made to one or more organizations
         which qualify as exempt organizations under Section 501(c)(3)
         of the United States Internal Revenue Code as amended (or
         corresponding provisions of any future United States Internal
         Revenue law).

   8. The address, including street and number, of the initial
      registered office of the corporation is c/o C T Corporation
      System, 1030 15th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005, and the
      name of its initial registered agent at such address is C T
      Corporation System.

   9. The number of Trustees constituting the initial Board of Trustees
      of the corporation is fourteen, and the names and addresses,
      including street and number, if any, of the persons who are to
      serve as the initial Trustees until the first annual meeting or
      until their successors be elected and qualify are:

      Charles N. Brownstein
      National Science Foundation
      1800 G Street, N.W.
      Washington, DC  20550

      Vinton G. Cerf
      CNRI
      1895 Preston White Drive, Suite 100
      Reston, Virginia  22091

      A. Lyman Chapin
      Bolt Beranek & Newman
      70 Fawcett Street
      Cambridge, Massachusetts  02138

      Ira Fuchs
      Princeton University
      220 Nassau Hall
      Princeton, New Jersey  08544

      Frode Greisen
      UNI-C, Technical University
      Lyngby, DK 2800, Denmark

      Geoff Huston
      Australian Academic and Research Network
      P.O. Box 1142
      Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia

      Robert E. Kahn
      1895 Preston White Drive, Suite 100
      Reston, Virginia  22091

      Tomaz Kalin
      RARE Secretariat
      466 - 468 SINGEL
      Amsterdam, Netherlands

      Kenneth M. King
      EDUCOM
      1112 16th Street, N.W., Suite 600
      Washington, DC  20036

      Lawrence H. Landweber
      University of Wisconsin
      1210 W. Dayton Street
      Madison, Wisconsin  53706

      Kees Neggers
      SURFnet bv
      Godebaldkwartier 24
      3511 DX Utrecht, Netherlands

      Michael M. Roberts
      EDUCOM
      1112 16th Street, N.W., Suite 100
      Washington, DC  20036

      Anthony M. Rutkowski
      Sprint International
      12490 Sunrise Valley Drive
      Reston, Virginia  22096

   10.  The name and address, including street and number, if any, of
      each incorporator is:

         NAME                                    ADDRESS

      Robert E. Kahn                        1895 Preston White Drive
                                            Reston, Virginia  22091

      Kenneth M. King                       1112 16th Street, N.W.
                                            Washington, DC  20036

      Juergen Harms                         24 rue Ge'ne'ral Dufour
                                            Geneva CH-1204, Switzerland

2. Security Considerations

   Documents of this type do not directly impact the security of the
   Internet infrastructure or its applications.

3. Author's Address

           Internet Society Board of Trustees
           Internet Society
           12020 Sunrise Vally Drive - Suite 210
           Reston, VA
           USA

           phone: +1 703 648 9888
           fax:   +1 703 638 9887
           email: isoc-trustees@isoc.org