NAB has weighed in on a Supreme Court case involving MGM Studios vs. Grokster. The trade group urged the court to overturn an appeals court ruling which found that software providers such as Grokster, which enable peer-to-peer sharing of audio and video files, could not be sued for contributing to copyright infringement.
The earlier decision by the 9th Circuit legalized P2P operations since it is virtually impossible to identify and sue individuals infringing through P2P networks, said NAB.
In a digital environment, immunizing those who facilitate mass copyright infringement hurts broadcasters, NAB said in a filing with the Supreme Court. Broadcasters depend on copyright law as creators and licensees of copyrighted material.
NAB said that, “allowing the kind of infringement P2P operations accomplish undermines the ability of broadcasters to maintain geographic exclusivity for programming. Such operations threaten to erode local audiences and ultimately the national policy of localism that underlies the broadcast model.”
PTP Sharing Erodes Audience, NAB Tells High Court
PTP Sharing Erodes Audience, NAB Tells High Court
