Opinion ID: 3039139
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Defining Sale

Text: The District Court concluded that the 1999 Agreement was a contract for the sale of the Number and thus violated 47 C.F.R. § 52.107. We disagree. First, we note that subscribers do not “own” toll free telephone numbers. In the Matter of Toll Free Service Access Codes, 20 F.C.C.R. 15089, 15090 ¶ 4, 2005 WL 2138620, at  (F.C.C. Sept. 2, 2005) (“Telephone numbers are a public resource and neither carriers nor subscribers ‘own’ their telephone numbers.”). Because subscribers do not own their telephone numbers, they can never “sell” them outright. Instead, they “sell” the interest that they have in the number; that is, the right to use it to provide toll free service. In order to determine whether the 1999 Agreement constituted a sale for the purposes of 47 C.F.R. § 52.107, we review dictionary definitions of “sale” and “sell” to assess whether the agreement falls within the definitions. Black’s Law Dictionary (8th ed. 2004) (“Black’s”) defines “sale” as “[t]he transfer of property or title for a price,” id. at 1364, and defines “sell” as “[t]o transfer (property) by sale,” id. at 1391. Black’s defines “transfer” as “[a]ny mode of disposing of or parting with an asset or an interest in an asset.” Id. at 1535. Meanwhile, Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary defines “sale” as “the act of selling; specifically: the transfer of ownership of and title to property from one person to another for a price” and, in 7 relevant part, defines “sell” as “to give up (property) to another for something of value (as money).” Id. at http://www.merriamwebsters.com (last visited Feb. 12, 2008). Next, Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary (“Webster’s”) defines “sale,” in relevant part, as a “transfer of property for money or credit,” id. at 1693, and “sell,” in relevant part, as “to transfer (goods) to or render (services) for another in exchange for money; dispose of to a purchaser for a price,” id. at 1739. Webster’s defines “dispose of,” in relevant part, as “to transfer or give away, as by gift or sale.” Id. at 568. Without exception, these definitions of “sale” and “sell” emphasize the transfer of property or ownership for a price and the finality of the transaction. Here, the fundamental features of the 1999 Agreement were that Business Edge retained control of the Number, preserving responsibility for paying toll charges, and that Business Edge would only perform routing services for a period of five years. We, therefore, cannot conclude that the 1999 Agreement was a sale. Therefore, we vacate the District Court’s decision that the 1999 Agreement should be invalidated for violating the prohibition on selling toll free telephone numbers in 47 C.F.R. § 52.107.