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Copyfight: the Politics of IP

Listening to Grokster:
"Still wondering what happened during yesterday's oral argument in MGM v. Grokster? Bypass the spin, listen to the hearing [MP3 file, public domain], and decide for yourself.

My favorite bit: when Judge Noonan calls Mr. Ramos on his use of overheated rhetoric--e.g., piracy talk:

'Let me say what I think your problem is. You can use these harsh terms, but you are dealing with something new, and the question is, does the statutory monopoly that Congress has given you reach out to that something new. And that's a very debatable question. You don't solve it by calling it 'theft.' You have to show why this court should extend a statutory monopoly to cover the new thing. That's your problem. Address that if you would. And curtail the use of abusive language.'

Later: Wendy Seltzer, urging unrestricted swapping of the oral argument MP3: 'It's public domain, so share freely on the peer-to-peer networks whose legality Fred von Lohmann and Mike Page eloquently defend.'"

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