Divisive File-Sharing Issue Tackled by Supreme Court
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court struggled Tuesday with a vexing question of copyright law that has divided Hollywood from Silicon Valley: When can Internet companies be sued for helping others download free copies of music and movies?
This is no mere copyright dispute, because the stakes are enormous.
Lawyers for the movie studios and record producers say file-sharing networks that allow users to make copies from one another's computers are "inflicting catastrophic, multibillion-dollar harm" on the entertainment industry.
"The record industry has lost 25% of its revenues" since millions of computer users began downloading free music, industry attorney Donald Verrilli Jr. told high court justices. He described file-sharing software as a "gigantic infringement machine" that had made piracy into a flourishing business.
Outside the court, two small groups representing both sides of the issue paraded in a circle.
One group carried placards that read: "Feed a Musician: Download Legally." Some musicians and other artists say they are being cheated by illegal file sharing.
The others' signs said: "Fight for the Right to Innovate" and "Hands Off My IPOD." Technology advocates say courts should not allow big Hollywood companies to block innovation and halt the free flow of information on the Internet.
Inside the court, the justices in their questions and comments signaled that they were looking for a narrow rule that could allow the entertainment industry to go after some software companies marketing themselves as offering free copies of protected works.
But the narrow approach would not prohibit file-sharing technology itself. These programs may have legal uses as well as illegal ones, the justices noted.
In the past, the court has been confronted with new copying devices that could be used legally or illegally. For example, a Xerox photocopier from the 1970s could be used to run off illegal, free copies of a new book, but that fact alone would not have allowed book publishers to sue Xerox for violating the copyright laws.
The two file-sharing companies targeted by the lawsuits that reached the high court are Grokster Ltd., which is based in the Caribbean and distributes the Grokster software, and StreamCast Networks Inc., which is based in Woodland Hills and distributes the software known as Morpheus.
