The RIAA and MPAA have had one of their favourite weapons turned against them, simultaneously setting their plans to ban p2p music file sharing except that marketed and/or approved by their owners, back several significant notches.

Five US library associations were planning to file a 'friends of the court' brief, yesterday, backing Streamcast Networks and Grokster in the suit brought against them by Hollywood.

"According to an attorney who has seen the document, the brief argues that Streamcast - distributor of the Morpheus software - and Grokster should not be shut down," says CNET News reporter Declan McCullagh. "It asks the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the April decision by a Los Angeles judge that dismissed much of the entertainment industry's suit against the two peer-to-peer companies."

This is paricularly apt given that as part of Hollywood's bid to manipulate the US legal system in the same case, it had a number of educational luminaries, as well as Pressplay, MusicNet, Full Audio and other music services, and international film, music, video and other copyright organizations, file similar briefs. The idea was to browbeat the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit into overturning US District Court Judge Stephen Wilson's decision that Grokster and Morpheus aren't liable for 'copyright infringement' on their networks.

Nor was this the first such occurrence.

Among the groups signing this latest brief are the American Library Association (ALA), the Association of Research Libraries, the American Association of Law Libraries, the Medical Library Association and the Special Libraries Association, says McCullagh, going on that it was drafted by the American Civil Liberties Union.

"A central argument of the brief is that the district court got it right when applying a 1984 Supreme Court decision to the Internet," he states. "That decision, Sony v. Universal City, said Sony could continue to manufacture its Betamax VCR because a company 'cannot be a contributory (copyright) infringer if, as is true in this case, it has had no direct involvement with any infringing activity'."

His story also quotes ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels as saying in an email, "The amicus brief will make the point that we are not supporting the wrongful sharing of copyrighted materials. Instead, we believe the Supreme Court ruled correctly in the Sony/Betamax case. The court in that case created fair and practical rules which, if overturned, would as a practical matter give the entertainment industry a veto power over the development of innovative products and services."

(Thanks for the pointer, EazyRidress82 : )

I may just have to start going to libraries more.

Loves libraries.

Me too......

I should go pay all my overdue fines now....
...with interest.

Librarys have many good quality audio and video media for FREE checkout. Use that instead of buying.

Glad to see that there is somebody looking out for the little guy. What gets me is really just how stupid and uneducated the RIAA members really are. The other day I was reading about a country sonwriter was mad at the whole internet/downloading and he started off by blaming Bill Gates. That to me is somebody who does not understand technology and refuses to change with the pace. Technology will not halt. I also hate them because they have consistently used their money and power to keep many works from entering the public domain by having the government extent their copyrights by so many ludicrous years. Pathetic. That comes to show that very little talent and creativity left. So, they continue to lobby to have many works of these long deceased performers extended to make money from them and not pass it own to thier rightful owners. No wonder they are hated.

The key to the success of the libraries' case is to make sure they know how many non-infringing files are available.

Namely independent music.

I never understood the logic behind suing VCR manufacturers and P2P. Just because you have something you could conceivably use to break the law (not that I think sharing is breaking the law, but that's the RIAA's argument), doesn't mean you will break the law. It would be like suing everyone who owns a gun just because it could used for a robbery or homicide!

Well, give the recording companies credit that they have once again shot themselves in the feet. (wonder what size shoe they are down to now? Maybe a size 2?) They spent all this money to get the laws changed to protect themselves with the idea of going after folks in private lawsuits. Now isn't it a riot that those very vague laws that allowed them to pull this off is now being used against them as folks around the country wise up to whats going on. That's kinda like using a gun with a 180 turn in the barrel.

Well it had to happen. We have Sharman enterprizes sueing the RIAA for misuse of their software, there are the Library Associations up-in-arms now that their contents may will be included within the laws that are trying to be bought in to being.

There are now being brought before the public eyes the inappropriateness of the legal law suits and who they are aimed at. Under this conditions, it is hard to see how they will continue to be successful over the long haul. Making a complete fool of ones self doesn't help in the long run.

Should we say that in the end, it may well be the saving grace for all of us.

Yes, another shot to the foot to the RIAA, next its the arm hehehe.

I would prefer that they were shot where it hurts most. In the heart.

filesharing sure makes strange bedfellows

darkened03,

The libraries have always been on our side. They've repeatedly entered friend of the court briefs over the years attacking the growth of copyright.

The heart isn't going to hurt it will just kill them. I would prefer they be shot a little lower. That way they won't die right away and they'll atleast experience a small fraction of the pain they cause us on a daily basis.

A shot in the heart wouldn't kill them anyway, try a stake, they are vampires after all.

Our library not only is opposed to the RIAA but also the Patriot Act... Shred those check-out records!

I'm in favour of using an iron maiden on the RIAA... of course they might sue us as we put them in it for copyright infringment... cause we all know the band came before the impliment of torture.

Hey, if you shoot them in the butthole maybe they will stop crapping out terrible records!

I think they have given up shutting down kazaa and fasttrack now

Don't even think about shutting Grokster down . . . what the devil am I gonna do now??!!??!?