Chill Out About Grokster

June 28, 2005

Yes, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously against Grokster, but it's not as bad as you think. Many are stoking a fire, claiming that the justices are shooting the messanger, but that's not exactly true. Here's a quote from the Reuters artical linked above, "We hold that one who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright ... is liable for the resulting acts of infringement by third parties." (emphasis mine)

Yes, they are placing blame on Grokster, but it's because they claimed to be just a protocol while promoting the illegal activities possible with their service. Everyone who gets it understands that Grokster is purely a means to distribute bits and bytes, but those same people need to understand that it is illegal to promote theft.

I'm not trying to take a moral high ground, I just want people to understand that this decision isn't as bad as it sounds. Om Malik does a great job of summing up why we need to chill the fuck out. Read that and you'll be put at ease, probably.

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