Friday, March 04, 2005
Filesharing, Gun rights, and the Digital Revolution
Intel weighed in recently on the issue that should be of concern to all conservatives: the March 29 supreme court hearing of MGM vs Grokster (list of briefs and petitions here). The decision in this case will either uphold or strike down the landmark betamax case, which ruled that Sony was not liable for copyright infringement committed with their recording equipment.
So why does this matter to anyone other than we college students? The implications of this suit will extend far beyond the realm of digital file sharing. If the court were to reverse the previous ruling, or propose new limitations and infringe upon it, the are opening the door to third party liability suits of the worst kind. (READ: Gun manufacturers). The anti-gun lobby is already salivating at the prospect of suits against gun manufacturers; ruling that the provider of a technology is liable for its use will only open the door to such litigation.
More importantly, it represents another chance for judicial activism to propose a legal precedent contrary to the will of the people. The idea that Ford motors should be responsible for the actions of a drunk driver is outlandish, but this case enjoys support among many simply because file-sharing is such a hot topic. Taking this one step further, this could be equated to the rise of the blogosphere (which suffered a hit today in an unrelated story), which the MSM fought tooth and nail and will continue to decry as it fades into an irrelevant second place. Digital media is the wave of the future, and it is the trend we are headed toward, not against. I can't help but think that the RIA missed the boat on this one. Had they gotten in on the mp3 craze at the beginning, licensing the music themselves, not through third party shams like iTunes that leave the artist with a Dime or less, they could have saved face and profited from a seamless transition to the age of digital media. As it stands, the Record industry and Hollywood elite stand like the monolithic CBS, painting itself as the angry grouch impeding progress and harassing Americans, and shooting itself, once again, in the foot.
So why does this matter to anyone other than we college students? The implications of this suit will extend far beyond the realm of digital file sharing. If the court were to reverse the previous ruling, or propose new limitations and infringe upon it, the are opening the door to third party liability suits of the worst kind. (READ: Gun manufacturers). The anti-gun lobby is already salivating at the prospect of suits against gun manufacturers; ruling that the provider of a technology is liable for its use will only open the door to such litigation.
More importantly, it represents another chance for judicial activism to propose a legal precedent contrary to the will of the people. The idea that Ford motors should be responsible for the actions of a drunk driver is outlandish, but this case enjoys support among many simply because file-sharing is such a hot topic. Taking this one step further, this could be equated to the rise of the blogosphere (which suffered a hit today in an unrelated story), which the MSM fought tooth and nail and will continue to decry as it fades into an irrelevant second place. Digital media is the wave of the future, and it is the trend we are headed toward, not against. I can't help but think that the RIA missed the boat on this one. Had they gotten in on the mp3 craze at the beginning, licensing the music themselves, not through third party shams like iTunes that leave the artist with a Dime or less, they could have saved face and profited from a seamless transition to the age of digital media. As it stands, the Record industry and Hollywood elite stand like the monolithic CBS, painting itself as the angry grouch impeding progress and harassing Americans, and shooting itself, once again, in the foot.
Comments:
A good point Andrew. I think the far-reaching precident that overturning Betamax would set makes a broad ruling against Grockster unlikely. But, if such a ruling occurs, all hell is going to break loose. CD burner companies sued for copyright infringement, etc... It'll be ugly, real ugly. Probably so ugly that congress would have to modify copyright law to prevent such suits. I guess we'll see...
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