When Can We Go Back To Just Listening To Music?

The Supreme Court’s Grokster ruling, which held that compaies producing software used for illegal file trading can be held liable for the actions of consumers, has been hailed by the music recording industry and decried by the tech industry. But what does the ruling really mean for a world which in which digital media is obviously the distribution method of the future? “The movie and music bosses didn’t get everything they wanted. The justices left the Betamax doctrine intact. That 1984 ruling said that even though a technology – such as a VCR – might be used to infringe copyright, it could still be sold if it also allowed substantial legal uses.” And then there’s the likelihood that one or both sides in the debate could go running to Congress for relief…