Grokster, the Supreme Court, and us
Published: 28 Jun 2005 17:20 BST
What about other technology companies? Is Apple's iPod still legal?
The court made it clear that they were most concerned about companies that actively encourage copyright infringement. What that means isn't yet clear.
Some analysts say that companies that don't go as far as peer-to-peer providers in enabling piracy should be fine. But some consumer electronics companies say the decision does raise the possibility of having to defend their new technologies against expensive litigation.
What does the ruling mean for me?
If you're an average computer user, not much in the short run. Courts have generally said that swapping copyrighted works is not legal. Record labels and movie studios have been suing individual computer users for copyright infringement for more than a year now, and they're unlikely to stop anytime soon. If you're making copyrighted movies or music available for download online, you're still at risk of drawing a lawsuit.
The decision could drive many of the existing commercial file-swapping companies out of business, however.
Wasn't Kazaa part of this case at some point?
Yes, the Kazaa software was part of the original lawsuit, which was filed in late 2001. That software was sold in early 2002 to Australia-based Sharman Networks. The copyright holders brought Sharman into the case later, but because of jurisdictional disputes, the Kazaa portion was left in the lower court.
Will they (Kazaa, eDonkey, BitTorrent and so on) still be legal to download?
Downloading the software itself isn't illegal. As long as the companies want to distribute the software, there's nothing in the court ruling that says consumers themselves can't download it. However, using the software to trade copyrighted songs, movies or software remains illegal in the United States.
All can be used for noninfringing uses, such as distributing open source software or noncopyrighted works. BitTorrent, in particular, has been widely used for distribution of open source software.
Previous
Did you find this article useful?
193 out of 372 people found this useful
Digg
Slashdot
Del.ici.ous
Stumble
Reddit
