Copyright vs P2P

In a remarkable decision for Peer to Peer developers and users, the USA Ninth Circuit recently ruled in favour of Grokster in MGM vs Grokster

from EFF:

...the Court observed that, in the long run, a competive, unfettered market for innovation ends up helping copyright owners (even if it doesn't help today's entertainment industry oligopolists). In fact, today's ruling will likely be remembered as yet another example of the courts rescuing the entertainment industry from its own short-sightedness. In the words of the Court, "Further, as we have observed, we live in a quicksilver technological environment with courts ill-suited to fix the flow of internet innovation. The introduction of new technology is always disruptive to old markets, and particularly to those copyright owners whose works are sold through wellestablished distribution mechanisms. Yet, history has shown that time and market forces often provide equilibrium in balancing interests, whether the new technology be a player piano, a copier, a tape recorder, a video recorder, a personal computer, a karaoke machine, or an MP3 player."

There is an absolutely fascinating one hour mp3 of the oral arguements from both MGM and Grokster/EFF available here. The arguements are very persuavive from both sides, and very clearly spelt out. It really does make all those endless courtroom dramas you see on TV quite dull by comparison, I strongly recommend downloading and listening to it.