Some of the most important technology decisions this week were made not in
the boardroom but by nine men and women wearing black robes.
The Supreme Court handed movie studios and record labels a sweeping victory
against file swapping, ruling that peer-to-peer companies such as Grokster could
be
held responsible for the copyright piracy on their networks. In a unanimous
decision, the nine justices said companies that build businesses with the active
intent of encouraging copyright infringement should be held liable for their
customers' illegal actions.
The decision comes as a surprisingly strong victory for copyright companies
and stands to reshape an Internet landscape in which file swapping has become
commonplace.
The ruling will give the recording industry and Hollywood immediate
ammunition to file lawsuits against file-trading companies. It could also be a
boon for legal music services such as Apple Computer's iTunes, which could see
their strongest competitors--freely downloadable songs--driven further
underground.
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