Mer Bittorrent vs Grokster
The litmus test is BitTorrent. Here is a technology that is widely used for both infringing and non-infringing purposes, with infringement probably predominating today. And yet: It was originally created to support noninfringing sharing (of concert recordings, with permission). Its creator, Bram Cohen, seems interested only in noninfringing uses, and has said all the right things about infringement -- so consistently that one can only conclude he is sincere. BitTorrent is nicely engineered, offering novel benefits to infringing and noninfringing users alike. It is available for free, so there is no infringement-based business model. In short, BitTorrent looks like a clear example of the kind of dual-use technology that ought to pass the Court's active inducement test.
A court that followed the Grokster analysis closely would have to let BitTorrent off the hook. To do otherwise, I think, would be to institute a de facto predominant-use test, finding BitTorrent liable because too many of its users infringed.
SCOTUSblog BitTorrent: The Next Main Event (2005-06-28)
Cachelogic, a network monitoring firm that conducted a worldwide survey of network activity during June 2004, found that BitTorrent accounted for 53 percent of P2P traffic and 35 percent of overall Internet traffic.
Newsweek Hidden Treasure (2005-06)
Here's my question: what would it even matter if courts put Bram Cohen in prison for creating BitTorrent? How much would it affect the technology itself if its creator had a heart attack and died tomorrow? (I hope he doesn't. Forgive my morbidity.)
Greyhame What If Bram Died? (2005-06-29)
Uppdatering (18.05)
First, in purposefully touting itself as a replacement for, and seeking to lure the former users of, Napster, a notorious facility for the swapping of copyrighted materials. Second, in failing to take any steps to filter or otherwise impede the mass-scale infringement known to occur with the use of their file-sharing systems. And third, in adopting an advertising-based business model built on high-volume levels of usage that could only be sustained by the exchange of commercially valuable, copyrighted materials.
News.com Grokster and the wisdom of Solomon (2005-07-05)
- Bram Cohen har, trots manifestet, inte uppmuntrat till upphovsrättsbrott med hjälp av BitTorrent på samma sätt som Streamcast och Grokster.
- Eftersom BitTorrent är en öppen teknik skulle det knappast vara möjligt att filtrera bort upphovsrättsligt material – för själva tekniken. BitTorrent-trackers däremot har den möjligheten. Detta har blivit särskilt aktuellt sedan Bram själv satt upp en sökmotor för torrents på BitTorrents sajt.
- Bram Cohen tar emot donationer på sin webbplats, vilket skulle kunna ses som ett argument för att han tjänar pengar på upphovsrättsbrott genom tekniken.
Exempel på fair use av tekniken är till exempel Blizzard Downloader, Valve och Brams arbete Steam, samt PSP Video 9.
Kategori: Digitala nedladdningsmarknaden
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