FC: Appeals court rules that Aimster must remain shut down

From: Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
Date: Mon Jun 30 2003 - 22:00:04 PDT

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    Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2003 23:13:22 -0400
    To: undisclosed-recipient:;
    From: Monty Solomon <montyat_private>
    Subject: Aimster online service must stay offline-court
    
    
          Aimster online service must stay offline-court
          - Jun 30, 2003 06:38 PM (Reuters)
    
    By Andy Sullivan
    
    WASHINGTON, June 30 (Reuters) - Aimster, the online service
    being sued by major record labels for allowing its users to
    copy songs for free, must remain shut down until it can prove
    its users do more than illegally trade copyrighted material, a
    U.S. appeals court ruled on Monday.
    
    The ruling by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in
    Chicago further muddies the legal waters surrounding Aimster
    and other "peer-to-peer" song-swap services that recording
    companies blame for a sharp decline in CD sales.
    
    Various courts have shut down Aimster, Napster, and other
    online music file sharing services, agreeing with the recording
    industry's argument that they are responsible for massive
    copyright infringement over their networks.
    
    But a U.S. judge in Los Angeles ruled in April that the
    Grokster and Morpheus services should not be shut down because
    they do not control what is traded over their networks, much as
    videocassette makers should not be held liable if their users
    tape copyrighted shows.
    
    Judge Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit said that though
    there were merits to both arguments, Aimster could likely be held
    responsible for infringing activity because its tutorials
    encouraged users to download copyrighted songs.
    
    ...
    
          - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=34676809
    
    
    
    
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