COPYCENSE

"The U.S. Supreme Court ruled (.pdf) Monday that software companies can be held liable for copyright infringement when individuals use their technology to download songs and movies illegally.

"The unanimous decision handed the music and movie industries a crucial victory in their ongoing battle to curb Internet piracy — a campaign centered on lobbying for new laws, filing thousands of lawsuits against Internet users, and winning a ruling from the nation’s highest court.

"Their victory Monday on the third piece of that strategy dealt a big blow to technology companies, which claim that holding them accountable for the illegal downloading of songs, movies, video games and other proprietary products would stifle their ability to develop new products."

Krysten Crawford. Hollywood Wins Internet Piracy Battle. CNNMoney.com. June 27, 2005.

See also:

U.S. Supreme Court. On Writ of Certiorari: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., et al. v. Grokster, LTD., et al.. (.pdf) June 27, 2005.

News.com Special Coverage. File-Swap Fallout. News.com.

Libe Goad. Supreme Court Deals Blow to P2P Services. eWeek. June 27, 2005.

Technology & Marketing Law Blog. Grokster Supreme Court Ruling. June 27, 2005.

Electric Frontier Foundation. Supreme Court Sows Uncertainty. Deep Links. June 27, 2005.

Vauhini Vara. A Grokster Primer. WSJ.com. June 27, 2005.

The Wall Street Journal. Grokster Roundtable. June 27, 2005.

National Public Radio. File-Sharing Firms May Be Liable, Says High Court. All Things Considered. June 27, 2005.