Grokster in court

On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a landmark case brought by big-media plaintiffs against tech startup defendants Grokster and StreamCast. 

Justice Stephen Breyer had the best line of the day when he said that "The monks had a fit" when Johann Gutenberg developed movable type. Breyer was grilling Donald Verrilli, MGM's attorney, when he made that statement. Justice Antonin Scalia pressed the attorney on how an inventor would be able to gauge  how many potential users would utilize a new product for unlawful uses.  

I'm not a cyber-libertarian, and I stand for justice and the exercise of wisdom. But as a big believer in opportunity and innovation, I am inclined to lean in favor of StreamCast and Grokster, despite the illegal activities their new technologies have made possible.

The show must go on, and big media shouldn't want to control it, and, quite frankly I can't imagine they can stop it. After all, it's not the technology that's stealing their content, but rather the unscrupulous and opportunistic people who use it. See story on MarketWatch