Article Summary/Critique: Internet Distribution
In his article ôPaying for the sins of their users: liability and growing uncertainty in a digital age,ö John Lobato addresses the realm of cyberspace, comparing it to the Wild West in terms of its battle with piracy and copyright infringement (357). The virtual world of Internet crime is markedly different of the physical world of crime; there are no fingerprints, DNA tests, witnesses, or landmarks for detecting criminals, and the Internet facilitates the anonymity of the perpetrator. The issue of distributors handing out products used by third parties ôfor the purposes of copyright infringementö is becoming increasingly troublesome. Although finding the criminals that do this is easyùInternet sites openly make ôpirated music and videoàavailable for free download through online servicesöùthe courts have yet to find a solution for the problem and are ôactively debating the merits of holding liable the distributors of products that enable the infringement of copyrightö (Lobato 357).
Lobato discusses the response of the courts to the increasing number of court cases involving the Internet and copyright infringement. He examines the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) suit in 2000 against two distributors of free online software, Grokster and Streamcast Networks, charging that they intentionally distributed their software to enable users to make illegal copies of copyrighted works in violation of the Copyright Act (Lobato 357). The software enabled computer users to use peer-to-peer networks to connect with other members for downloading and reproducing copyrighted music and video illegally. Lobato points out that the courts tried to develop new rules for handling digital-age problems like these but that in spite of this, the JusticesÆ opinions in the Grokster case ôleft a murky standard with little application outside the particular facts of that caseö (357). Lo...