Following a federal judge’s ruling that the companies behind Grokster and Morpheus could not be held responsible for their users' copyright violations, entertainment trade groups including the RIAA and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) yesterday filed an appeal at a San Francisco court.
In a submission they said Judge Stephen Wilson departed from well-established copyright law when he ruled Grokster Ltd and StreamCast Networks - which distributes Morpheus - were not responsible for their users' actions.
RIAA president Cary Sherman said: "This case... is about the conduct of business that intentionally misuse commonly available internet technology to profit from copyrights they do not own. These are businesses that were built for the exclusive reason of illegally exchanging copyrighted works and they make money hand over fist from it. The Court of Appeals should hold them accountable."
Grokster president Wayne Rosso said: "We clearly have the law on our side, something the plaintiffs obviously have a difficult time accepting."