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Brief Asserts Morpheus™ File-sharing and Search Software Legitimacy; District Court and Ninth Circuit Correctly Concluded Substantial Non-infringing Uses.
Brief in Opposition to Petition for Writ of Certiorari - Downloadable PDF
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Los Angeles, November 8, 2004 - StreamCast Networks, Inc. today filed a
brief with the Supreme Court in opposition to Hollywood's petition for writ
of certiorari - a desperate effort to have the High Court review and
overturn the affirmative Federal Court of Appeals ruling after the three
judge panel concluded with a unanimous decision in favor of StreamCast.
StreamCast and Grokster are filing a unified opposition.
"We wholeheartedly agree with Circuit Judge Thomas' opinion, 'The
introduction of new technology is always disruptive to old markets, and
particularly to those copyright owners whose works are sold through
well-established distribution mechanisms. Yet, history has shown that time
and market forces often provide equilibrium in balancing interests, whether
the new technology be a player piano, a copier, a tape recorder, a video
recorder, a personal computer, a karaoke machine, or an MP3 player. Thus, it
is prudent for courts to exercise caution before restructuring liability
theories for the purpose of addressing specific market abuses, despite their
apparent present magnitude,' stated Michael Weiss, CEO of StreamCast
Networks, developer of the Morpheus peer-to-peer software.
"It is our belief that there is no need for the Supreme Court to review the
matter. The ruling of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirming the trial
court's ruling was based on a perfect understanding of the precedent of the
Sony-Betamax Case," stated Matthew A. Neco, General Counsel/VP for
StreamCast Networks. "The Petitioners are grasping for straws when they
disingenuously assert that the Supreme Court should review the matter
because they imagine a split in circuits based upon dicta in another case.
There is no conflict. The plaintiff's petition is nothing more than a
request that the Supreme Court unnecessarily revisit the 1984 Betamax
decision itself. The law is clear and has already been decided. Morpheus is
used for substantial non-infringing purposes, and, therefore, the Betamax
standard applies, resulting in StreamCast not being secondarily liable for
any direct infringing uses by users of Morpheus."
"This is nothing but an end-around attempt by the entertainment industry to
over-turn the Betamax decision after they recently lost in their attempt to
do so through Congress, which wisely refused to legislate what the courts
have deemed is appropriate behavior," added Charles Baker with the Houston
law firm of Porter & Hedges, LLP.
Morpheus's StreamCast Networks is represented in the opposition by Fred von
Lohmann and Cindy Cohn at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Charles
Baker with the Houston law firm of Porter & Hedges, LLP, and Matthew A.
Neco, StreamCast's General Counsel/VP.
P2P technology, as developed by StreamCast and other legitimate companies,
supports people-to-people communications, allowing millions of people to
connect directly to each other and to search, share and download all types
of digital media files, including audio, video, games, images, software and
documents that are in the public domain or where the owner has consented to
its use. With over 127 million downloads, the 4th most downloaded software
in the history of the Internet according to CNET, Morpheus has become the
front door to a massive global digital public library accessible by all
citizens and development efforts at StreamCast to progress the growth of
this technology will continue. Morpheus 4.5 powered with NEOnet technology
is available for download free of charge at www.morpheus.com.
About StreamCast Networks, Inc.
StreamCast Networks, Inc., creators of the Morpheus software product is a leading global communications technology company that is revolutionizing Internet digital media distribution and communications via software that enables users to communicate directly with one another on an unprecedented scale. Users according to CNET's download.com have downloaded over 124 million copies of Morpheus.
Brian O'Neal
Sr. Director of Communications
StreamCast Networks
boneal _at_ morpheus.com
818-887-8610 ext. 122
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