Finally!
It seems that the peer-2-peer file-sharing industry is learning the Art of War in the legal realm and going after the entertainment monoliths, using their own tactics of harassing lawsuits. (Thanks to the Legal Theory Blog for the heads-up on this.)
Kudos to Judge Stephen Wilson for letting this lawsuit go forward. This is the same enlightened judge who originally ruled that file-sharing software was protected under the same Supreme Court ruling that allowed the VCR to exist dispite the entertainment industry's attempt to quash that invention as well.
(Note: This landmark ruling for informational freedom celebrated its 20th anniversary this month. Can you imagine what society would be like if this decision went 5-4 in the other direction? No VCR's? Hence, no camcorders?? The entire informational revolution would have been strangled in its crib at the dawn of the 1980's.
To quote Home Recording Rights Coalition Chairman Gary Shapiro, "The significance of the Supreme Court's decision, twenty years ago, cannot be overstated. For consumer electronics and consumer freedom, it is the Magna Carta and the Declaration of Independence rolled into one. But increasingly, major entertainment interests are arguing that the Betamax doctrine does not apply in the digital age. Without this doctrine's protection, the big motion picture studios and others would exercise a veto over every new function of every new product.")
I wish that KaZaa had found a theory other than copyright infringement to attack the entertainment industry with. But right now this is war - and the copyright fascists must be stopped at any cost! Even if that means using their own tactics.... (Now is probably a good time to reiterate the message from my first post that only I am responsible for my opinions - not Justene or anyone else who has bestowed upon me the privilege of guest blogging.)
Will Kazaa win? Who knows? But the mere fact that the RIAA will have to spend time, money, and energy defending this should be considered a small victory in and of itself. Hopefully, it will be the start of something bigger.
It's too bad that the entertainment industry's "all or nothing" approach to intellectual property has forced otherwise moderate compromising people like me to become radicalized in the other direction. But they RIAA has made it's choice, and your humble blogger has made his own.
I say - Let the war continue!
Posted by Justin Levine at January 29, 2004 10:57 PM | TrackBackConsidering the spyware that Kazaa inflicts on the user, I really can't cheer for them. Then again, they are a perfect match for the jerks at RIAA.
Posted by: Kevin Murphy at January 30, 2004 04:51 PM (Permalink)Kevin,
You get Kazaa Lite K++, the h4x0r version of Kazaa, if you don't care about copyright issues. From what I understand, it lacks any spyware and some of Kazaa's other annoying features.
Posted by: John A. Kalb at January 30, 2004 09:44 PM (Permalink)Oh, I know about K-lite, but that doesn't let KAZAA off the hook here. Matter of fact, their lawyers have driven K-Lite so far underground that the mundane user (the type that these spyware programs feed off of) will never find it.
For KaZaa to use copyright claims as it's main legal tool is just wrong, as they say.
Posted by: Kevin Murphy at February 2, 2004 08:36 PM (Permalink)Of course not.
But it does make using K-Lite K++ more palatable if you are into that kind of thing. And from what I understand, it even has a built-in blocker for all known RIAA informants.
Posted by: John A. Kalb at February 3, 2004 02:26 PM (Permalink)