No Grokster, yet

Who would think that no news would be such big news? Internet law will have to wait again for its big day in Court, as the Court decided six “second tier” cases, while holding off on Grokster and Brand X as well as the other big cases: Kelo (takings); Van Orden and McCreary County(10 Commandments). Even without a decision, the press and blogosphere are buzzing in anticipation.
The NY Times looks at some predictions: The Court of Online Opinion Has Its Say on File Sharing: “Most believe that the Supreme Court will send the case back to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which upheld a lower court’s decision against MGM and its fellow petitioners last August. Others think that the Supreme Court will side cleanly with the industry. Only a plucky minority said the high court would unequivocally side with the software companies.”
News.com reports: Justices to rule on fate of file swapping: “It’s been 21 years since the last case of this nature reached the Supreme Court,” said Raymond van Dyke, a Washington, D.C.-based copyright attorney. “It shows the change in technology since then, and is an indication that some new directive may be needed.”
Eric Goldman predicts that Grokster–and all of us–lose eventually.
Denise Howell answers some questions and suggests links to facilitate your appreciation and understanding of the case. I’ll also shamelessly link again to my March podcast about the Circuit court arguments and decision in Grokster.
Finally, Dahlia Lithwick takes An Inside Look at Supreme Court Decision-Making.