I didn't mean "other corporate entities" as a pejorative term. I was trying to come up with a generic descriptor, and since all of the browser makers have some

I didn't mean "other corporate entities" as a pejorative term. I was trying to come up with a generic descriptor, and since all of the browser makers have some sort of articles of incorporation (even Mozilla, at https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/foundation/documents/articles-of-incorporation/ https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/foundation/documents/articles-...), that's why I came up with "other corporate entities". The reseller analogy is interesting! But I think there is one thing missing from that, which is the exchange of value, or the contractual arrangement. As a customer of a CA, you possibly pay some form of money, and you always agree to some form of contract (in the form of Terms & Conditions). But the CA does not may money to the browser vendors, as far as I'm aware. And looking through some of the Mozilla CA Certificate Root Program bugs, I don't see any indication of contracts/T&Cs being agreed to, except what is implicit in the fact that prople are requesting inclusion. What makes this more confusing is that the CA's do pay money, to a third party in the form of auditors who make sure that the CA is following the various CAB Forum requirements. So it is hard for me to see this as a reseller type of arrangement.