Rewinding Sony: An Inducement Theory of Secondary Liability

Abstract

Discusses the US Supreme Court ruling in Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer Studios Inc v. Grokster Ltd, which preserved the technology protecting rule established by its earlier decision in Sony Corp of America v. Universal City Studios Inc but failed to clarify its application to peer to peer (P2P) technologies. Reviews the operation of the Sony rule on vicarious and contributory liability in copyright cases, its application in subsequent case law, the Grokster judgment's likely impact on the Sony principles and the remaining areas of uncertainty regarding the revised test to be met by P2P companies seeking to escape secondary liability for inducement of copyright infringement. Reflects on the likely effects of the Grokster ruling for future technologies.

Keywords: Grokster, sony, betamax, secondary liability, contributory liability, vicarious liability, secondary infringement, contributory infringement, vicarious infringement, copyright, p2p, inducement