Grokster Decision Explained: P2P File Sharing Not Illegal!

The Internet world is abuzz with talk about today’s Supreme Court decision in the Grokster case, as it was with the Napster case before it. “Studios Win Big in Grokster Case,” reads one headline; “Hollywood Wins Internet Piracy Battle,” says another. “Court Sides with Entertainment Biz in Grokster Case,” reads yet a third.

And in a rather disgusting display of self-congratulatory puffery, the RIAA has issued a statement saying that “With this unanimous decision, the Supreme Court has addressed a significant threat to the U.S. economy and moved to protect the livelihoods of the more than 11 million Americans employed by the copyright industries.”

Of course, probably half of those “11 million Americans employed by the copyright industries” are employed by the RIAA itself, working to track down those hardened music pirates - the scourge of the Internet - you know, the twelve-year-olds.

Showing only slightly more restraint and tact, Dan Glickman of the MPAA said “Protecting intellectual property rights and aggressively combating copyright theft will keep an engine of economic growth and job creation thriving; promote innovation; strengthen legitimate businesses that unite technology and content in innovative and legal ways; and ensure a future of quality and choice for consumers in the United States and around the world.”

Gag Aunty with an MP3. Well, at least Glickman admits that combating copyright theft will keep job creation thriving.

But at the end of the day, what is the new Grokster ruling really about? Does it really herald the end of peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing? Is it really illegal to share files? Are companies like Grokster, Streamcast, and Napster now outlawed?

No, of course not…

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