FC: Appeals court rules that Aimster must remain shut down

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

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Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2003 23:13:22 -0400
To: undisclosed-recipient:;
From: Monty Solomon <monty () roscom com>
Subject: Aimster online service must stay offline-court


     Aimster online service must stay offline-court
     - Jun 30, 2003 06:38 PM (Reuters)

By Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON, June 30 (Reuters) - Aimster, the online service
being sued by major record labels for allowing its users to
copy songs for free, must remain shut down until it can prove
its users do more than illegally trade copyrighted material, a
U.S. appeals court ruled on Monday.

The ruling by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in
Chicago further muddies the legal waters surrounding Aimster
and other "peer-to-peer" song-swap services that recording
companies blame for a sharp decline in CD sales.

Various courts have shut down Aimster, Napster, and other
online music file sharing services, agreeing with the recording
industry's argument that they are responsible for massive
copyright infringement over their networks.

But a U.S. judge in Los Angeles ruled in April that the
Grokster and Morpheus services should not be shut down because
they do not control what is traded over their networks, much as
videocassette makers should not be held liable if their users
tape copyrighted shows.

Judge Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit said that though
there were merits to both arguments, Aimster could likely be held
responsible for infringing activity because its tutorials
encouraged users to download copyrighted songs.

...

     - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=34676809




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