The Ninth Circuit's ruling in MGM v. Grokster today clarified four points of incredible importance to innovators of all stripes, including peer-to-peer developers:
The Court made clear that, for purposes of the "Betamax defense" announced by the Supreme Court in 1984, the important question is whether a...

Breaking news: the Ninth Circuit today affirmed the district court's ruling last year in favor of StreamCast and Grokster in the MGM v. Grokster case. EFF represents StreamCast (makers of the Morpheus software) in the case.More when we've had a chance to read it.

Last week, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it's seeking comment on how to define spam. Currently, the CAN-SPAM Act (PDF) describes a "commercial electronic mail message" as one whose "primary purpose...is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service."
The FTC wants people to...

OK, so I still don't have my jet pack. But at least I may soon have a TiVo for my radio.
You'll remember that the RIAA is complaining bitterly to the FCC about the possibility that, someday, consumers might have the ability to record digital radio (aka DAB...

On August 5, 2004, 40 State Attorneys General wrote an open letter to P2P United, an industry group that represents many of the major peer-to-peer software vendors, such as Grokster, Morpheus, and eDonkey. In the letter, the AGs accuse the companies and their technology of illegal and unethical...