METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER STUDIOS INC. V. GROKSTER, LTD.: INDUCING INFRINGEMENT AND SECONDARY COPYRIGHT LIABILITY

摘要

MGM Studios Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd. ends the latest battle in the entertainment industry's running war against online copyright infringement. The Grokster Court established a new theory of copyright liability, one based on inducement of infringement by end users. This new theory significantly alters the legal environment for technologists, who must now consider a new source of indirect copyright liability when designing software. At the same time, Grokster may frustrate copyright owners who will have to satisfy a new and ambiguous indirect infringement standard. This Note considers the effect of the Grokster decision's inducement theory on designers of file-sharing networks and the decision's effects on the staple article of commerce doctrine. Part Ⅰ describes the current state of the technology underlying file-sharing systems. Part Ⅱ provides a legal primer on indirect copyright liability in the file-sharing context. Part Ⅲ describes the Court's holding and rationale in Grokster, and Part Ⅳ interprets that decision and its impact on the future of file sharing.