A number of music and film companies in the US have asked a judge to rule on an internet copyright case without trial after their opponents - music file-sharing sites Kazaa, Grokster and Morpheus - asked the courts to dismiss the case against them. The Motion Picture Association of America, Recording Industry Association of America and National Music Publishers Association have filed a motion in a Los Angeles federal court asking for a quick ruling in their copyright infringement case against file-sharing sites which the trade groups claim have become the centre of digital piracy since the demise of Napster and Aimster. "The defendants' business model is premised on legal theories that have been soundly rejected by both the Napster and Aimster courts," the RIAA’s Matt Oppenheim told reporters.
The file-sharing services are using pretty much the same plea originally made by Napster – that they cannot be held responsible if web-users use their technology for the illegal exchange of copyright music or movies. It’s a case based on a 1984 US Supreme Court ruling that said video recorder manufacturers were not liable for copyright infringement because recorders had "substantial" legitimate uses as well as illegal ones. "There can be no liability for two reasons," Morpheus’ lawyer Fred von Lohmann told the BBC. "The first reason is that we have no ability to control how people use our software. Secondly, the software is capable of substantial non-infringing uses. You don't hold a crowbar manufacturer responsible if its product is used to break into a house."
The RIAA is also caught up in a dispute in Washington with telecommunications company Verizon. The RIAA claim one of Verizon’s customers is acting as "a hub for significant music piracy" and they want to know the individual's details. However Verizon has refused, saying that it must protect customer privacy. "We need to make it abundantly clear to people that they are engaging in illegal activity when they are offering their personal music collection, which they don't own copyrights in, for others to take," RIAA president Cary Sherman has said. But the trade group might face a big battle in this regard – over 300 US based ISP’s are supporting Verizon in their stand.