14 DAY TRIAL // After the United States Supreme Court has made a historic ruling just a few days ago, according to which the transfer of copyright-infringing files within peer-to-peer networks is considered theft, now we're are witnessing the first consequences of this decision.
Thus, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has filed complaints against 784 Kazaa, Grokster and Limewire users, which are charged with transferring illegal copyright-infringing files.
Although RIAA has filed several thousand suits since the beginning of its anti-piracy campaign in September 2003, only now the legal support for favorable rulings in all of these cases has become available.
Thanks to the decision taken by the American judges in the "MGM vs. Grokster" case, the music and film industries now have a very powerful weapon in their attempt to stop the piracy and ban the software designed to skirt copyright protection and and to allow the users to make illegal copies. As Mitch Bainwol, chairman and chief executive of the RIAA, says, "If there was any doubt left, there should now be none -- individuals who download music without permission are breaking the law".
However, the critics of the judges' ruling say that it leaves murky guidelines, and that's why we can expect a true tsunami of lawsuits in the near future, especially considering the fact that piracy is a widespread phenomenon, both in the US and around the world.