Grokster, Morpheus face MPAA in appeals court

Found on The Register on Tuesday, 03 February 2004
Browse Filesharing

Are P2P companies responsible for the law-breaking actions of their users? That's the question lawyers from the content industry and file-sharing software suppliers Grokster and Morpheus went to court yesterday to argue.

In court, the content industry's advocates argued before the Tribunal that Grokster and Morpheus should be forced to incorporate technology that blocks the sharing of copyright material - essentially to turn them into copyright police.

Grokster's attorney, Michael Page, noted that if the two companies are held liable for illegal file-shares, so too would ISPs, CD and DVD burner manufacturers and other software suppliers, too.

They think the creator of a techology which can be used for illegal purposes can be held liable? Ok, then also sue Smith & Wesson; or better, the complete weapon industry. Or manufacturers of baseball bats, crowbars, knives...