In April this year Judge Stephen Wilson threw out the case
against Streamcast Networks, the company behind the Morpheus
file-sharing software, and Grokster Ltd, saying they "are not
significantly different from companies that sell home video
recorders or copy machines, both of which can be and are used to
infringe copyrights."
The ruling was a major blow for the music industry, which had
become used to winning most of its internet music battles since it
first began the war with a lawsuit against Napster in December
1999. Napster ultimately collapsed under the cost of litigation,
and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has
pursued successor networks. Unfortunately for the RIAA, they
operate in a manner significantly different to Napster.
Napster required users to connect to its servers to identify the
files that could be downloaded from another user's home computer, a
system known as centralised P2P. Grokster and Morpheus are
decentralised, meaning that once the users have the networking
software, they no longer need to connect to the companies' servers
to access other users' computers. Accordingly, the companies do not
know what files are being exchanged, and cannot stop the network
operating or exercise control over user activity.
The RIAA's President, Cary Sherman, announced on Tuesday that
the appeal had been lodged. In a statement he said that Judge
Wilson had erred, adding, "These are businesses that were built for
the exclusive reason of illegally exchanging copyrighted works, and
they make money hand over fist from it. The Court of Appeals should
hold them accountable."
The RIAA has also been seeking to hold the file-swappers
themselves accountable. It announced in June that it would be
turning its attention to individual pirates, not just the
file-sharing networks. Since then it has served a flood of
subpoenas under the controversial US Digital Millennium Copyright
Act (DMCA), ordering ISPs to identify targeted individuals. Over
1,075 of these subpoenas have now been issued, and it is
anticipated that the first cases will be filed next month.
