MPAA/RIAA Press Conference

I just hung up from the RIAA and MPAA's teleconference regarding the Supreme Court's decision released earlier today. I was a little stunned with the decision because the lead opinion was unanimous...without dissent and all the justices concurred to send the case back to lower courts, finding that Grokster and Streamcast were deliberately and openly facilitating extensive copyright infringement by their technologies. At first glance, the decision seems to favor the entertainment industry, but I'm only half way through the 24 page Court Opinion...To be honest, I didn't catch all of the call, but there was lots of talk about "clarity" in the decision and in the trajectory that online music business models of the future need to embark on. Companies operating in the space will need to use a "common sense standard" as to what's right and wrong as they move forward and we all (the media included) need to help integrate the message of following the letter of the law for everyone's benefit into everyday culture. In other words, teachers, parents, members of congress, etc. all have a responsibility to educate the younger generation. Unfortunately, the ubiquity of the internet has confused a lot of younger people, but the High Court's decision speaks with such clarity and should have a disincentive at least for file-sharers in the U.S...The case will certainly go back to the District Court Level, but I doubt anything will change...Some speakers speculated that the ruling could have a chilling effect on new technolgies and innovation while others felt just the opposite - that it is the foundation of new technology on the creative side....because now there is a powerful new incentive to be creative and be protected by the law....Read more HERE on the Scotus Blog and Corante has a plethora of postings that will keep me up late tonight :)

Related:
--Supreme Court Rules Against P2P Companies!
--Supreme Court Rules Against File Swapping
--Court: File-Sharing Services May Be Sued
--New Challenge to File-Sharing Designers - "One notable legal point about the decision is that the Court’s most significant prior ruling on copyright and new technology remains intact, despite the urging of the copyright owners.."Therefore the Sony decision from 1984 stands, unrevised.