Ninth Circuit Declares Grokster, Morpheus Not Liable for Infringement

["Olga Francois" <ofrancois@xxxxxxxx>]

 From EFF:

http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2004_08.php#001833

EFF Scores Landmark Win for P2P
Ninth Circuit Declares Grokster, Morpheus Not Liable for Infringement 

California - Today the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals made a crucial
decision (PDF) in support of technology innovators by declaring that
distributors of the peer-to-peer software Grokster and Morpheus cannot
be held liable for the infringing activities of their users. The
Electronic Frontier Foundation argued on behalf of Streamcast, the
creator of the Morpheus software, in a case that pitted dozens of
entertainment conglomerates against two small software companies. 

The Ninth Circuit decision is based in part on the fact that P2P
networks have significant non-infringing uses, and that they can help
artists earn money. The ruling is similar to the Supreme Court's
decision in the 1984 Betamax case, which determined that Sony was not
liable for copyright violations by users of the Betamax VCR. 

"Today's ruling will ultimately be viewed as a victory for copyright
owners. As the court recognized today, the entertainment industry has
been fighting new technologies for a century, only to learn again and
again that these new technologies create new markets and opportunities,"
said EFF Senior Intellectual Property Attorney Fred von Lohmann. "There
is no reason to think that file sharing will be any different." 

The court's decision was unanimous. 

"This is a victory for innovators of all stripes," added von Lohmann.
"The court's ruling makes it clear that innovators need not beg
permission from record labels and Hollywood before they deploy exciting
new technologies." 

It is likely that the entertainment companies will appeal the Ninth
Circuit's decision to the Supreme Court. 

Ninth Circuit decision in MGM v. Grokster (PDF). 

Contact:

Wendy Seltzer
Staff Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
wendy@xxxxxxx

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