Talking of which, a large group of P2P supporters are uniting ahead of the US Supreme Court hearing on the critical MGM v
Grokster court case which ruled that technology companies who make P2P software cannot be held liable for any copyright violation they enable. The major labels and movie studios want that decision reversed, however a consortium of pro-P2P groups like the **Electronic
Frontier Foundation, Public Knowledge and the Distributed Computing
Industry Association are throwing their weight behind Grokster's case, and they have artists like Chuck D and Jason Mraz** on their side. They say P2P networks are a critical promotional and distribution tool.
The consensus is that the labels and studios won't be successful in this case - which is grounded in the landmark Sony
Betamax decision of old which formally distanced the makers of technology that aids copyright violation of any liability for that violation providing said technology has legitimate uses.
The next port of call for the music and movie companies will be
Congress where there is support for a change in the law that could supercede the Sony Betamax decision, though any such move will be lobbied against by all the electronics manufacturers and retailers who fear any such legislation may throw liability onto them (all of which might mean Sony Music and Sony Pictures end up lobbying against Sony Electronics, which would be fun).