Headline News
Supreme Court Says File-Sharing Services May Be Sued
The Washington Post reports (via Hope Yen of the Associated Peess) that Internet file-sharing services will be held responsible if they intend for their customers to use software primarily to swap songs and movies illegally according to Monday's Supreme Court ruling, rejecting warnings that the lawsuits will stunt growth of cool tech gadgets such as the next iPod.
The unanimous decision sends the case back to lower court, which had ruled in favor of file-sharing services Grokster Ltd. and StreamCast Networks Inc. on the grounds that the companies couldn't be sued. The justices said there was enough evidence of unlawful intent for the case to go to trial.
File-sharing services shouldn't get a free pass on bad behavior, justices said.
"We hold that one who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright, as shown by the clear expression or other affirmative steps taken to foster infringement, is liable for the resulting acts of infringement by third parties," Justice David H. Souter wrote for the court.
At issue was whether the file-sharing services should be held liable even if they have no direct control over what millions of online users are doing with the software they provide for free. As much as 90 percent of songs and movies copied on the file-sharing networks are downloaded illegally, according to music industry filings.
About 20 independent recording artists, including musician and producer Brian Eno, rockers Heart and rapper-activist Chuck D, supported the file-sharing technology to allow for greater distribution of their works.
Industry observers have said a ruling against Grokster could also prompt stiffer enforcement from European regulators, who were watching the case for guidance on tackling copyright questions in their countries.
Read the full article at WashingtonPost.com.
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41 Comments on "Supreme Court: File-Sharing Services May Be Sued"
2. writes:
we'll just show the stupid record companies we prefer this way of distribution. we simply stop buying the overpriced,overplayed and overhyped music "they" want to give us. we know where the TRUE art lies,
its ALWAYS just beneath the gloss coating the record companies paint us each year,
kind of old art that had to be painted over for fear of persecution. we cannot let them dictate what
we like, when to like and when to listen to it.
hooray, IPOD!
Member
Member
10. writes:
High Prices=Downloads. Lower Prices=Purchases. I think out of all of this sh**. Some time soon someone needs to revult. Even if it has to be in violence. I swear we're f***ing treated like animals in a f***ing circus. Its f***ing pothetic. First you got f***ing bush to worry about. then you've got these f***ing gas prices. Then this sh**. I'm tired of getting f***ed over.
11. writes:
14. writes:
it is bullsh** i mean i have to drive 2 hours to this cd shop to get good metal that i cant find any where near me like "devildriver" "Lamb of God" and other good metal and even when i waste likw 10 bucks worth of petrol getting there i have to pay damn $40(au) for a cheap cd. so for me and people like me why travel 2 hours and get ripped off when you can get mad sh*t off the net for free. i mean when my parents go to that shop i might buy a heaps good cd cause i like collecting them but i only collect heaps good metal and for the decent metal i will download and burn
15. writes:
so f*** the police f*** polotics and f*** high prices and most of all F*CK YOU ALL especially "rape jesus" my guess is that you have been raped yourself possibly by "jesus" you bible bashing homo. those rich people and polititians that call us scum they will get theirs one day i mean after all the country will be run by us one day when they all DIE and then WE WILL RISE
17. writes:
all these record compainies need to quite their b****ing....just because we're able to download songs off the internet for free doesnt mean we wont go out and buy our favorite bands cds...if their worried about not making money they should start putting out some decent music instead of britney spears and all that n***** noise.
18. writes:
You know what? f*** ALL YOU f***ING MTV GENERATION PEACE LOVING RELIGION HATING HIPPIES!! f***IN STONERS!! ALL OF YOU SHUT THE f*** UP AND THANK GOD YOU'RE IN THIS COUNTRY. TO YOU FREEDOM IS FREE, BUT IT'S NOT!! WE ALL PAY A f***ING PRICE IN THIS COUNTRY. SO ALL OF YOU QUIT BLAMING BUSH, QUIT BLAMING OUR TROOPS IN IRAQ FOR DOING THEIR JOB. GO TO f***ING CANADA YOU LITTLE f***ING p***ies!! I'M SICK OF YOU f***ING MY COUNTRY UP. DECENT HARD WORKING AMERICANS IN THIS COUNTRY, DONT WANT IT TO BE RUINED BY PUNK a$$ POSER STONERS LIKE YOU. f*** ALL OF YOU AND YOU CAN ALL GO TO HELL. WAH WAH WAH I WANT EVERYTHING FOR FREE. f***IN FREELOADERS!!!!
19. writes:
Well i have no problem with the troops. they are just doing what they are told to do. their jobs. and i respect that. but that punk a$$ bush. Did you kinda notice that just about every country in the world started hating us a bit more when dumbass became president? I'm not dem or repub. I do vote for who sounds best. but bush sounds like pure sh**. Weapons of mass destruction? where? Biological weapons? where? Come the f*** on. Not knocking religion but you can't run a f***ing country off of religion. You dumb f***ing redneck, hick moonshiners. Why is gas so f***ing expensive? Why the f*** are taxes getting so f***ing high? I don't f***ing understand mr. f*** all y'all. Come the f*** on you damn d*** licker. I'm okay with the f***ing afghan war. but why in the f*** are we in iraq. Mother f***er you say iraq needs freedom. I visited my unlce in baltimore. Help them. You've got this f***er it korea in that says he will nuke us. But iraq said nothing. Why am i even talking to you. f*** you b****.
20. writes:
mrs. metal, you are one dumb sonofab****. you are totally fukking clueless. your taxes go up because of the fukking socialists running most of the country. you vote for who sounds best??????? it's fukking morons like you, that gave us 8 years of that phony, lieing, cokksuking, imbecile bill clinton & his retarded dyke wife. wake up dumbass, don't believe everything the communist run media tells you!!!
22. writes:
Taxes are f***ing high because of a f***ing war over some imaginary weapons. Can you tell me anything about these weapons. Like i said b****. You have this f***er in Korea that has sent threats to us. f***ing iraq was not threat at all. What the f*** were they going to do. Send f***ing camel biological camel terds to us? Come the f*** on. Yes brokenwings13. All poloticians f***ing lie. But i rather have a f***er like clintion than a dumbass guy like bush that runs a country off of religion. I'm from texas. I've grown up in the south. I can say that just about everyone down here that voted for him did so because he was a good ole boy from the south. Stupid sh**. This f***er is wrong. Don't get me wrong. All politics is stupid. But that guy is a f***ing moron. And you can kiss the crack of my f***ing as by!.
23. writes:
Mr Metal is a moron, Clinton screwed this country over, he could have stopped Osama, but didnt, he was offered Osama from the Saudis, and he refused, f*** clinton, taxes were going up anyway, because of the liberals, f***in commies, you dont know sh**e mrs metal fag
28. writes:
I should have the right to talk on this one. I've been in the USMC for 10 years now. although clinton lowered my pay when he was in i would die for that man. Now i'm being forced to die for a man i don't even trust. I mean come on. The guy sent us over there with lousy armor. What kind of sh** is that. I don't even know why we are in iraq. Most of us want say anything becuase our co's are repubs. Take this from one of the guys that are the first to go in. and the last to leave. I've been to both afghanistan and iraq. We have a reason to be f***ing up afghans. We have not f***ing reason to be in iraq. And yes i am a repub. But the dems are starting to look pretty f***ing great as of late. Later.
Former Contributor
29. writes:
wow...when the actual guys facing the hail of bullets and car bombs start talking like that you've got to ponder the logic of the in power party......the power mongering republicans have always scared me a little more than the sappy over optimistic liberals....and I LIKED Reagan and Bush Senior.
Old Bush jr chimp in charge can't speak without going mush mouth or insulting someone, explain his multitudes of empty promises or even refute attacks on his bumblings, grasp social security, understand minorities, fix the economy, or even fight a WAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Arent the hawks supposed to be good at handling $$$$$$$$$ and violence for the benefit of our country?!??!?
bleh, i'm blogging now, but in all seriousness has any president...Republican or Democrat been more hated since NIXON?!?!?!??!?!?!?!??!?!!!!
Member
30. writes:
Better a Bl0wjob than a C0cksucker .... thats what i have to say about that ....
ahem, this is once again an attmept by the corporations to tighten the grips on us: the prey they force-fed their propanganda, and stunt the growth of this unhealthy "underground" and "independent" music, which they so fear.
But, actually ... who cares? there are hundreds of P2P apps, just move to another less one until that one gets sued and so on, that's what we've being doing since napster right?
Get limewire, soulseek or something, and be smart burn you songs and dont let them pile up and up and up.
32. writes:
I like girls. I like girls that know more about sports than i do. I love girls that know more about music than i do. But a girl that can out drink me. Thats 100% pure woman.
What does this have to do with anything above. Nothing at fuc king all. But its skipping other sh**.
33. writes:
Sorry, I'm taken.
I can tell you who pitched the only perfect game in World Series history, and who the catcher was.
I can give you Tinkers, Evers, Chance, but I can also tell you who the thirdbaseman was.
I can tell you about Phil Spector and how he was the one who was known for the Wall of Sound.
I could outdrink you too, but let's not go there.
34. writes:
Don Larsen was the pitcher, Yogi Berra was the catcher. 1956 World Series, Yankees and Dodgers(when they were still in Brooklyn).
Harry Steinfeldt was the third baseman for the Chicago Cubs while the Tinkers-Evers-Chance double play era was going on.
It'll take way too long to describe Phil Spector. Way too long.
38. writes:
Look i agree with johnson - if an album is good enough most of us will fork out and buy the album. Fact is I live in South Africa - which is pretty bare when it comes to the avialability of metal - if it weren't for file sharing programs i would barely know of half of the bands that i do. I have even tried ordering from reputable online stores but yeah ... this is Africa :P I am still waiting for a DVD that I ordered in 2002 - which they apparently resent 5 times ... o well :P .
Look yeah the band members and song writers have to eat at the end of the day :P Fact is if the work is truely amazing people will want original copies on their shelf and not just on their hard drive. I think any dedicated metal head - or whatever music it is that u listen to - will understand that if they want more from an artist , they should BUY the album.
Founder, owner & programmer
39. writes:
Re: #29 - Hate to say it but #26, 27 and 28 are all Mrs Metal. I'll be making my comment IP matching script live this weekend to counter llamas like this. I've seen it a lot lately. Especially with people self-promoting and having whole conversations with themselves to make is sound like ppl are talking about a band... The llamas will be unmasked!!!
40. writes:
Hey c*** bringer. First of all i would not waste my time doing some stupid sh** like that. And those post were made about a week or so ago? Come on guy. Do you have anything to do? i've had to deal with a lot of dumbasses like you lately. lol. The llamas will be unmasked? oooohhhh. Suppose to be scared. f***ing retard.
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1. Mike Roach writes:
file sharing is hardly "bad behaviour"...the ourcry to make Grokster, Soulseek & the like illegal, is the typical reaction by companies such as Sony & Warner - who propagate the illusion of profit-loss under the pretext of "stunted growth" to both artists & technology - angered by their powerlessness to own and control a new medium of communication.