EFF: Win for Makers of Morpheus Peer-to-Peer Software! Court Rejects Entertainment Industry Copyright Claims

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release

For Immediate Release: Friday, April 25, 2003


Contact:

Fred von Lohmann
   Senior Intellectual Property Attorney
   Electronic Frontier Foundation
   fred () eff org
   +1 415 436-9333 x123 (office), +1 415 215-6087 (cell)

Cindy Cohn
   Legal Director
   Electronic Frontier Foundation
   cindy () eff org
   +1 415 436-9333 x108 (office), +1 415 307-2148 (cell)


Win for Makers of Morpheus Peer-to-Peer Software!

Court Rejects Entertainment Industry Copyright Claims

Los Angeles - A federal judge ruled today that companies
providing peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing software cannot
be held liable for copyright infringement by users of the
software.

The ruling is a striking victory for the makers of the
Morpheus and Grokster software products. In the court's
words:

"Grokster and Streamcast [the company that provides
Morpheus software] are not significantly different from
companies that sell home video recorders or copy machines,
both of which can be and are used to infringe copyrights."

"We believe the Morpheus case is about technology, not
piracy, and today the court agreed, making it clear that
technology companies are not responsible for every misuse
of the tools they make," noted Electronic Frontier
Foundation (EFF) Senior Intellectual Property Attorney
Fred von Lohmann. "Today's ruling reaffirms the Supreme
Court's landmark decision in the Sony Betamax case."

EFF represents Streamcast in the case.

"Hollywood sought to control what innovators can make
available to consumers," added EFF Legal Director
Cindy Cohn. "This ruling makes clear that technology
companies can provide general purpose tools without fear
of copyright liability."

"Over 61 million Americans use peer-to-peer systems -- more
than voted for our President," added EFF Executive Director
Shari Steele. "It's time we found a way to ensure that
artists get paid without killing off this tremendous new
technology."

For this release:
http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/MGM_v_Grokster/030425_morpheus_win_pr.php

For the decision:
http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/MGM_v_Grokster/030425_order_on_motions.php


About EFF:

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil
liberties organization working to protect rights in the
digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF actively encourages and
challenges industry and government to support free
expression and privacy online. EFF is a member-supported
organization and maintains one of the most linked-to
websites in the world at
http://www.eff.org/

                            -end-





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