Opening Salvo Filed In MGM v. Grokster

Aire Libre writes "The first brief on the merits before the Supreme Court in MGM Studios v. Grokster was filed Friday (January 21, 2004) by the Video Software Dealers Association. The brief suggests that while p2p systems may be used for infringing and noninfringing uses, courts should consider whether technologies may be used to reduce infringing uses without over-burdening the system provider, freedom of speech for non-infringing uses (including by copyright owners who want p2p systems to be used to reach their audiences) or freedom of competition (including first sale doctrine principles, and competition in providing all intermediate software and services). Bringing a retailer perspective, it strikes a balance of respect for copyright and respect for the limits of those copyrights. The brief is available here (in PDF)."

Comments

DRM-Free Deposits

[Baricom]

While MGM's position may be "balanced", there's always one thing that irks me about DRM: it makes it impossible to use in the public domain later.

The very least a movie/music/software company must do to gain my approval is to deposit their materials to the Library of Congress unencumbered and DRM-free.

Copyright is supposed to let creators make money on their work for a limited time in exchange for making it freely available later.

Obligatory Disclaimer: IANAL