Grokster
Grokster, like Kazaa, was a second-generation peer-to-peer (P2P) network that was birthed from the fall of Napster. (In fact, they started out using the same network, StreamCast.) Grokster was eventually embroiled in a lawsuit with MGM that reached the Supreme Court. The lawsuit resulted in a landmark ruling that established the "inducement test".
Because Grokster was software that set up a P2P network, any and all materials shared via the Grokster program never came in contact with any of Grokster's servers or computers. Grokster therefore argued that, since the company was technically never in possession of illegally copied material, they were innocent of any wrongdoing. However, the Supreme Court eventually ruled that Grokster was ultimately responsible for acts of piracy through their software, since the company sold a program that was intended to "induce" the spread pirated material.
The inducement test doctrine has had widespread repercussions on the internet piracy debate. Proponents consider the inducement test to be a concrete way of discerning whether an organization or an individual is at fault in a copyright dispute, while opponents argue that the inducement test is vague and raises more questions than it answers. If you're interested in learning more about the inducement test, you might read this article for a fairly balanced approach, and this article for an opinionated take on the issue. See you next time!
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| Grokster's website today |
Because Grokster was software that set up a P2P network, any and all materials shared via the Grokster program never came in contact with any of Grokster's servers or computers. Grokster therefore argued that, since the company was technically never in possession of illegally copied material, they were innocent of any wrongdoing. However, the Supreme Court eventually ruled that Grokster was ultimately responsible for acts of piracy through their software, since the company sold a program that was intended to "induce" the spread pirated material.
The inducement test doctrine has had widespread repercussions on the internet piracy debate. Proponents consider the inducement test to be a concrete way of discerning whether an organization or an individual is at fault in a copyright dispute, while opponents argue that the inducement test is vague and raises more questions than it answers. If you're interested in learning more about the inducement test, you might read this article for a fairly balanced approach, and this article for an opinionated take on the issue. See you next time!
Are you going to be making any posts about sites like Limewire and Frostwire? I remember using those when I was in middle school/early high school, and those were pretty popular... before they became rife with pornography and/or viruses, trojan horses, and worms.
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