Hollywood Files P2P Appeal

Found on Wired on Friday, 08 October 2004
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Major movie studios and record labels on Friday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the Grokster decision, which had absolved peer-to-peer networks of responsibility when their users download copyright material without permission.

"There is no reason the Supreme Court should review the Grokster decision," said Gigi B. Sohn, president of Public Knowledge, a public-interest advocacy group. "That case was based on the principles established in the 1984 Betamax case, which has lead to the largest and most profitable period of technological innovation in this country's history. Consumers, industry and our country have all benefited as a result."

"What if millions of people a day were entering other peoples' homes and stealing property in the U.S.?" asked Motion Picture Association of American President and CEO Dan Glickman in announcing the petition. "How would citizens react? The fact is, every day copyrights are violated in similarly massive proportions over peer-to-peer networks such as Grokster and StreamCast.... Now is the time for the courts to review these businesses that depend upon violation of copyright."

Beside the fact that their claims are ridiculous, a ruling in their favor would stop innovation. Not to mention that Glickman's comparison is even more ridiculous. As usually, it's based on totally wrong facts and leaves off other details; the statement itself could be considered a lie. First of all, millions of sharers enter other sharers' homes because they let them in. Next thing, they don't steal the property. They make copies with the ok of the houseowner. Criminalizing P2P like that does not work.