The highest court in the land is expected to hear arguments today over the legality of file-sharing technology. Until now, all lower courts have ruled for P2P networks, which had been arguing that they shouldn’t be held responsible for anything illegal users do with their product. This is defense Sony used in its landmark 1984 Betamax case before the Supreme Court.
On the other side there are the music labels and artists, who say file-sharing software is tantamount to theft.
The AP says regardless of the outcome, any Supreme decision won’t affect the hundreds of other P2P individual lawsuits clogging the courts. But a ruling in favor of the music industry “could effectively give the entertainment industry a legal veto over up-and-coming gadgets… and the threat of expensive lawsuits could hamper development of new devices.”
Via My Way News
