On Sony, Streamcast and Smoking Guns

Abstract

In 2005 the US Supreme Court remanded the landmark Grokster P2P file - sharing case to the California District Court for adjudication. This article looks closely at that remand decision, and the reasoning behind the district court's decision to hold the defendant liable for inducement.

It also considers whether the 1984 Supreme Court judgment in Sony Corp of America v. Universal City Studios Inc. would be decided differently if it were it to be decided under today's law. In so doing, it highlights some of the most significant differences between the Grokster Court's two concurrences.

Keywords: Grokster, StreamCast, Kazaa, P2P, peer-to-peer, file-sharing, file sharing, remand, inducement, secondary liability, contributory liability, vicarious liability, copyright