On Sony, StreamCast and Smoking Guns

Rebecca Giblin, Monash University

Abstract

In perhaps the final installment of the long-running Grokster litigation, the last remaining defendant to the action has been held liable for inducing its users to commit copyright infringement. The decision had wide-reaching implications for technological innovators and content interests alike. After briefly considering the decision this article considers three of the most significant. What does it mean for future innovators of distribution technologies? How would Sony itself have fared if the Betamax case had been heard in the current environment? Finally, is the staple article of commerce doctrine still relevant post-Grokster?