CDT is committed to the principle that copyrighted material should be protected from large scale unauthorized copying. Denying compensation to creators and distributors undermines First Amendment values in promoting expression, threatens the growth of new media and e-commerce, and does not support the consumer interest in a robust marketplace of content offerings.
At the same time, CDT believes that the broad public interest in an open and democratic communications media demands breathing room for valuable new technologies to develop, even if they may have some infringing uses. The Sony Betamax standard, set by the Supreme Court in 1984, has been a critical shield for the developers of new technology, from the iPod to instant messaging to the computer itself, all of which might also be used for infringement. The Betamax standard holds that technology developers and vendors cannot be held responsible for simply making or selling a technology as long as it is "capable of substantial noninfringing uses." Many of the products we take for granted today as part of the digital revolution might never have been developed, and the democratic potential of the Internet might never be realized, without the protections of Sony.
In debates in the courts (such as the MGM v. Grokster case) and before Congress (such as discussion over a potential bill penalizing "inducement" of copyright infringement), CDT is committed to finding balanced solutions that allow copyright holders to pursue bad actors while protecting innovation online.
CDT Offers Interpretation of Grokster Decision - One year after the Supreme Court issued its ruling in MGM v. Grokster, CDT published an article in the Stanford Technology Law Review entitled "Interpreting Grokster: Limits on the Scope of Secondary Liability for Copyright Infringement." The article provides an analysis of the Grokster case, which dealt with the question of when a provider of a product or service can be held liable for the infringing activities of its users. CDT argues that a close reading of the Grokster decision, together with the landmark 1984 Sony Betamax case and patent law precedents, suggest a number of significant limitations on the scope of such liability. The impact of the Grokster decision for technology innovators will depend in large part on whether lower courts adopt the type of interpretation advocated by CDT. June 29, 2006
Share this articleCDT Urges Balanced Copyright Approach Following Grokster Case - In written testimony submitted for a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on "Protecting Copyright and Innovation in a post-Grokster World," CDT urged that courts, industry leaders and lawmakers take a page from the recent Supreme Court decision by supporting an approach that protects copyrighted works while still safeguarding the ability of innovators to create new products. In the case of MGM v. Grokster the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that peer-to-peer file-sharing companies could be sued if they encouraged their customers to infringe copyrighted works, but could not be held liable simply for designing technology. CDT suggested that, properly interpreted, the Grokster decision gives law enforcers and copyright owners all the tools they need to go after bad actors, but should help to forestall legal challenges against legitimate innovators. September 28, 2005
Share this articleSupreme Court Says Grokster Can be Held Liable - The Supreme Court this morning issued its much-anticipated decision in MGM v. Grokster, a case with major implications for innovation and content protection online. The court said that the entertainment industry had presented ample evidence that Grokster and StreamCast -- two makers of peer-to-peer software -- had gone beyond simply distributing technology by actively inducing users to illegally download copyrighted works. The court upheld the vital principle that simply creating and distributing technology is not enough to hold an inventor liable for infringement under copyright law. June 27, 2005
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