The current "you have to pay for a couple more years" wording needs looking at - a simple "minimum membership period is 3 years" would I expect fix the disputable/legal ramifications, as the current setup isn't allowed in the UK for example (you cannot charge for a service that you do not, will not or cannot supply - so if the member no longer exists, you cannot supply them membership, so you cannot charge)
This is not an issue because it is allowed in the UK. Membership is not a service, and it is also not "supplied" to anyone. Membership entitles the member to voting rights and the possibility to request resources according to policies that passed a vote open to all members. But the membership itself is NOT a service. The fees members pay are used to fund RIPE's services, but those services are not provided to its members. RIPE's services are provided to the global Internet. So, a member is not paying RIPE for resources or any other service; one becomes a member to join in the governance, and help fund the services, of RIPE. You are confusing a RIPE membership with something like a gym "membership", which is not really a membership but (legally) a subscription. The two are very different. -- Regards, Terrence Koeman, PhD/MTh/BPsy Darkness Reigns (Holding) B.V. Please quote relevant replies.