It’s a case that has technology advocates and college students around the world just a little more than slightly concerned, as the Supreme Court took measures this week reminiscent of judgments reached some twenty years ago with the infamous Betamax Case between Sony and Universal Pictures. Of course, this time the industry isn’t exactly concerned about a format that owns less than 5% of the market share and will likely become outdated within the next five years, but still…
MGM vs. Grokster came to a conclusive jolt for developers this week as the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the motion picture industry, citing that Grokster (and other such services) might be held legally responsible when its users use their service to download or otherwise acquire illegal content. Specifically, Justice David Soulter explained in the verdict, “We hold that one who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright, as shown by clear expression or other affirmative steps taken to foster infringement, is liable for the resulting acts of infringement by third parties.” From the perspective of a quick-to-read swapper who’s got everything to lose, we’re all screwed.
But really, when you stop to take a second glance at this, it suddenly becomes crystal clear that without all of the hype and skewed interpretations of this ruling, MGM vs. Grokster isn’t necessarily as big of a decision as we might’ve been lead to believe. It’s stated that if you were to create a program capable of swapping files on the Internet…and promote it in favor of doing such…then yes, you’re going to get nabbed, big time. However on the other hand, if say, you’re operating more along the lines of Bittorrent creator Bram Cohen, whose wonderful program was designed to aid in the transfer of “large files” across the Internet, such as ISOs and other large images, but also happens to be unofficially used for pirating music and movies, then it seems like you still might be ok after all. Mind you, the spotlight is going to continue to pry and take focus on anything you might say or do to even suggest such activity with your software, but that’s where your business managers and/or common sense should come into play…
When I first caught wind of this case and what was going down, it was described to me along the lines of, “Anyone who doesn’t help to prevent piracy between you and other users can be sued for helping to invite it” and “Where does it end – P2P networks, your ISP, the makers of your PC itself?!” There’s been so much confusion about this case, I even read of one other example today, citing similarities akin to holding GM and Ford responsible for automobile accidents and speeding violations…but then again, I guess it’s a lot easier to drive traffic to your medium by exaggerating the truth than by telling it like it really is. Hands down – these industries are still really pissed and they’re scrambling for a legal leg to stand on because people continue to steal their product everyday and get away with it.
In part, I can’t say as I blame them, but I still hold strong in saying that I wish they’d put more focus into restructuring their marketing campaigns and increasing the quality of their product, instead of sticking to figures from the old times when they could legitimately expect $15 for a CD or $25 for any old DVD. We’ve moved beyond those times and it’s a whole new world out there, but they’d rather spend dollars in the courts than on product improvement to win back those that they’ve lost. Distributors farther on down the line are starting to get it right, as Napster and iTunes have cornered the music market and rumors have it that NetFlix and Blockbuster will be coming up shortly with a medium to stream content without ever having to leave the couch…just think of what they could do with the spending power of the production companies on board!
But anyways, in short, while MGM vs. Grokster certainly isn’t the end of the world for file sharing as we know it, hopefully if nothing else it’ll have at least opened a few more eyes – from users all the way up to developers and founders – that these industries certainly aren’t going to stop until they no longer feel that their profits are being hindered thanks to the Internet. As this is never going to happen, I’d say watch your back because they’re looking for any angle they can find and although they might not be knocking on your door today, unless you’re ready to start paying for your entertainment again, tomorrow’s only a day away…
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