Is Betamax Obsolete: Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc. in the Age of Napster
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Authors
Feder, Jesse M.
Issue Date
2004
Volume
37
Issue
Type
Journal Article
Language
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Abstract
INTRODUCTION|The phenomenon of peer-to-peer file distribution on the Internet - and the ensuing flood of copyright infringement lawsuits to halt the practice - has given courts a number of recent opportunities to explore the meaning of the United States Supreme Court's landmark copyright holding in Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc. I In A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc., Metro-Goldwyn Mayer Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd., and In re: Aimster Copyright Litigation, the respective courts each struggled to apply the teachings of Sony to circumstances that were not contemplated when the Court rendered its decision in 1984, producing outcomes that are, at least at first blush, startling in their inconsistency.|In Sony, the Court held that the manufacture and sale of the Betamax videotape recorder did not subject Sony to liability for contributory copyright infringement resulting from infringing uses by purchasers of the device, because the Betamax VTR was capable of "substantial noninfringing uses." Applying this standard to peer-to- peer file distribution systems, the Ninth and Seventh Circuits, in the Napster and Aimster cases, held that the purveyors of these systems were liable for contributory infringement. By contrast, a California District Court applying the Sony standard, as explicated in the Napster decision, found no liability in the Grokster case (albeit on different facts)...
Description
Citation
37 Creighton L. Rev. 859 (2003-2004)
Publisher
Creighton University School of Law