The US supreme court ruled yesterday that file-trading networks like Grokster and Morpheus can be held liable when their users trade copyrighted material without having permission from the authors of that content.

Naturally, film and music companies were thrilled because of this decision because they now have the possibility to sue these networks and ask for huge compensations.

This doesn't necessarily mean the end of Peer-to-Peer networks and software. There is too much at stake and too many users would miss these services for either Grokster or Morpheus to shut down or offer means for sharing only freeware or content not protected by copyright.

Music and film producers hope however that these networks will include filtering software that will ensure that the content shared doesn't include illegal copies of movies and music albums.

Maybe this ruling will ensure that legal download services will be more appreciated and users will turn to these solutions instead of pirated copies. However, should illegal downloading continue, the MPAA is standing by and is reserving the right to intervene and file suits whenever it is thought necessary.