In Arista v. Lime Wire the recording industry plaintiffs seek to hold Lime Wire liable for acts of copyright infringement by users of its software. The case is among the first to apply the inducement doctrine announced by the Supreme Court in MGM v. Grokster in 2005.

EFF and a coalition of industry and public interest groups filed an amicus brief urging the court to apply the law in a manner that will not chill technological innovation and to reaffirm that developers should not be held liable for copyright infringement based on misuses of their technology that they did not actively promote. In particular the brief urges the court to preserve the Sony Betamax doctrine which protects developers of technologies capable of substantial noninfringing uses from contributory infringement liability based on the activities of end-users. EFF was joined on the amicus brief by the Center for Democracy and Technology the Computer and Communications Industry Association the Consumer Electronics Association the Home Recording Rights Coalition the Information Technology Association of America Public Knowledge the Special Libraries Association and the U.S. Internet Industry Association.