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MGM v. Grokster & StreamCast Networks (Morpheus™)

StreamCast Networks, the company that develops and distributes the Morpheus peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing and searching software, is a defendant/respondent in an important case that will be heard before the Supreme Court of the United States on March 29, 2005.

Twenty-eight of the world's largest entertainment companies and a certified class of 27,000 music publishers brought the lawsuit against the distributors and developers of the Morpheus, Grokster, and KaZaA software products, with the intention of setting a precedent to use against other technology companies (P2P and otherwise) to control them, and what and how consumers receive, use and enjoy all sorts of digital media. As noted in StreamCast’s argument before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal, the case raises a question of critical importance at the border between copyright and innovation: When should the distributor of a multi-purpose tool be held liable for the infringements that may be committed by end-users of the tool? When should technology be stifled?

The Supreme Court's landmark 1984 decision in Sony Corporation of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc. (a.k.a. the "Sony Betamax ruling") held that a distributor cannot held liable for users' direct infringements so long as the tool is capable of substantial noninfringing uses. In MGM v. Grokster, the Ninth Circuit found that Morpheus’s P2P file-sharing and searching software is capable of, and is in fact being used for, noninfringing uses. Relying on the Betamax precedent, the court unanimously ruled that Morpheus cannot be held liable for users' copyright violations. The plaintiffs appealed, and in December 2004 the Supreme Court agreed to review the case.

The principles of copyright law set out by the Supreme Court in the Sony Betamax case have allowed innovators and copyright industries to flourish, and the public has benefited from that over the last 20 years. Those benefits should not be stifled by the desires of the copyright industries to control the development of technology. We look forward to the Supreme Court reaffirming the applicability of the principles of Betamax in the 21st century. Use Morpheus now to find, download and read the papers filed with the Courts, and more, so you know what’s going on.

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Supreme Court Documents

Merits Briefs

Briefs of StreamCast (Morpheus™), and Grokster (Respondents)

Amicus Briefs Supporting Morpheus, Grokster and technology (Respondents)

Briefs of Petitioners (entertainment companies)

Amicus Curie (“Friends of the Court”) Briefs Supporting Petitioners (entertainment companies)

Amicus Briefs “Neutral” as to Result

Petition for Certiorari

Opposition to Petition for Certiorari

  • Morpheus’s (StreamCast Networks, Inc.) & Grokster’s Brief in Opposition  [PDF 343k] to Petition for certiorari. November 8, 2004

Amicus Briefs

  • Computer and Communications Industry Association and Internet Archive's Brief in Opposition  [PDF 220k] of Petition for certiorari. November 8, 2004
  • American Intellectual Property Law Association's Brief  [PDF 1.6M] in Support of Neither Party. November 8, 2004
  • Roxio, et al's Brief in Support  [PDF 1.7M] of certiorari. (Brief includes Roxio, Inc., Musicnet, Inc., Code 7 Entertainment, Inc., Cinemanow, Inc., Sea Blue Media, LLC (d/b/a Cdigix), and Movielink, LLC. Historical note: Roxio is the current owner of the Napster service and brand.) November 8, 2004
  • Progress & Freedom Foundation's Brief in Support  [PDF 137k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
  • Washington Law Foundation's Brief in Support  [PDF 1.1M] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
  • Law Professors' Brief in Support  [PDF 219k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
  • States' Brief in Support  [PDF 995k] of certiorari. (Brief includes AL, AK, AR, AZ, CO, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MI, MO, MS, MT, NE, NC, NV, NJ, NM, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WV, WI, Guam.) November 8, 2004
  • Omnibus Brief in Support  [PDF 230k] of certiorari. (Brief includes Office of the Commissioner Of Baseball, National Basketball Association, American Society Of Media Photographers, Professional Photographers Of America, Directors Guild Of America, Writers Guild Of America (West), Screen Actors Guild, Association Of American Publishers, Association Of American University Presses, Producers Guild Of America, Graphic Artists Guild, Entertainment Software Association, Video Software Dealers Association, Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association And Author's Guild Of America.) November 8, 2004
  • NARAS et al's Brief in Support  [PDF 787k] of certiorari. (Brief includes National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada, The Country Music Association, Inc., The Gospel Music Association, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, Jazz Alliance International, Inc., and the Rhythm & Blues Foundation.) November 8, 2004
  • International Rights Owners Brief in Support  [PDF 182k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
  • Artists' coalition Brief in Support  [PDF 309k] of certiorari. (Coalition includes The Eagles, Brooks & Dunn, The Dixie Chicks, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Babyface, The Grateful Dead, Jimmy Buffet, Patti Loveless, Stevie Nicks, Gavin Rossdale.) November 8, 2004
  • SESAC's Brief in Support  [PDF 209k] of certiorari. November 8, 2004
  • ASCAP et al's Brief in Support  [PDF 458k] of certiorari (Brief includes ASCAP, BMI, Broadcast Music, Inc., Association of Independent Music Publishers, Church Music Publishers Association, Nashville Songwriters Association International, Songwriters Guild of America.) November 8, 2004

Ninth Circuit Appeal Documents

  • Ninth Circuit ruling affirming the district court grant of partial summary judgment in favor of Morpheus™ and Grokster [PDF, 131k]

    Ninth Circuit Opinion affirming district court: "This appeal presents the question of whether distributors of peer-to-peer file-sharing and searching computer networking software may be held contributorily or vicariously liable for copyright infringements by users. Under the circumstances presented by this case, we conclude that the defendants are not liable for contributory and vicarious copyright infringement and affirm the district court's partial grant of summary judgment." (Aug. 19, 2004).

    » magnet:// link: 20040819_mgm_v_grokster_decision.pdf

Oral Argument

  • Oral Arguments before the 9th Circuit
    Audio: [ WMA 10.4MB | MP3 16.4MB | OGG 16.5MB]
    Transcript available here , courtesy of Groklaw ( February 3, 2004)

Briefs

Amicus Briefs supporting entertainment company Plaintiffs

Amicus Briefs supporting Morpheus (StreamCast Networks, Inc.) and Grokster (Defendants)

District Court Documents

Cross Motions for Summary Judgment

Briefs

Amicus Briefs

StreamCast (Morpheus™) & Grokster (Defendants) Initial Motion for Summary Judgment – Denied by the Court as Being Brought Too Early

  • Transcripts of Oral Argument, Part One and Part Two

Briefs

Documents relating to Sharman Networks (Kazaa)

Sharman Counter-Claims (Antitrust and Copyright Misuse)

Jurisdiction

Complaints and Answers

Media Releases

DECEMBER 10, 2004
STREAMCAST CONFIDENT SUPREME COURT WILL UPHOLD 9TH CIRCUIT RULING IN FAVOR OF TECHNOLOGY
READ FULL RELEASE [PDF 480k]

NOVEMBER 08, 2004
STREAMCAST NETWORKS™ FILES OPPOSITION BRIEF TO THE PETITION OF THE RIAA AND MPAA TO THE SUPREME COURT FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI
READ FULL RELEASE [PDF 564k] | Brief in Opposition to Petition for Writ of Certiorari [PDF 343k]

OCTOBER 08, 2004
STREAMCAST NETWORKS™ CEO MICHAEL WEISS COMMENTS ON THE PETITION OF THE RIAA AND MPAA TO THE SUPREME COURT FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI
READ FULL RELEASE [PDF 487k]

JUNE 23 , 2004
STREAMCAST NETWORKS CEO MICHAEL WEISS PROVIDES TESTIMONY BEFORE U.S. SENATE,UNVEILS EVIDENCE OF MAJOR LABEL'S "BLACKLISTING" OF MORPHEUS™
Discussion Focuses on Future of Peer-to-Peer Distribution in the Marketplace; Calls for Investigation Into "Blacklisting" by Major Record Companies
READ FULL RELEASE [PDF 503k]

JULY 09, 2003
Morpheus™ Launches Two Phase Attack in Response to RIAA's War on Americans
Morpheus Endorses Electronic Frontier Foundation's Call For Congress to Keep File-Sharing Legal and Get Artists Paid
New Morpheus 3.2™ Software to Provide Increased Security to Protect Users' Privacy
READ FULL RELEASE [PDF 498k]

Electronic Frontier Foundation

  • Supreme Court Date Set for Grokster January 20, 2005
  • Supreme Court to hear MGM v. Grokster December 10, 2004
  • StreamCast and Grokster File Supreme Court Brief November 8, 2004
  • EFF Scores Landmark Win for P2P August 19, 2004
  • Electronic Frontier Foundation Defends Freedom to Innovate in Grokster Appeal January 30, 2004
  • Betamax was a steppingstone — Mercury News op ed by Fred von Lohmann January 25, 2004
  • Morpheus Fights Entertainment Industry Appeal September 17, 2003
  • Win for Makers of Morpheus Peer-to-Peer Software! April 23, 2003
  • Court Considers Morpheus Peer-to-Peer Software Case December 2, 2002
  • Motions Filed in Morpheus Peer-to-Peer Case September 9, 2002
  • Court Sets Jury Trial in Morpheus Peer-to-Peer Software Case March 4, 2002
  • EFF Asks Court to OK Morpheus Peer-to-Peer Software January 22, 2002
  • EFF Defends MusicCity Peer-to-Peer Technology November 6, 2001

For more about what's at stake in the case, see:

  • Tech Dodges a Bullet , by Fred von Lohmann [Law.com]
  • Betamax Was a Steppingstone , by Fred von Lohmann [San Jose Mercury News]
  • Oral Arguments before the 9th Circuit
    Audio: [ WMA 10.4MB | MP3 16.4MB | OGG 16.5MB]
    Transcript available here , courtesy of Groklaw ( February 3, 2004)

 

 

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