Old Men Now Invading the Internet

Tuesday, March 29, 2005

Our nine High Priests on the Supreme Court have decided to take their ever-expanding powers into the last vestige of non-regulated freedom; the Internet.

If the Court sides with the entertainment industry, such companies could use litigation to drive file-sharing software companies out of business. It would also reverse a rule that has been in place for the last two decades that protects manufacturers from lawsuits concerning copyright violations committed by customers using their products illegally.

You know, makers of VCRs, CD/DVD burners, IPODs etc., would be open to frivolous lawsuits by greedy entertainment corporations.

As always, we can turn to Justice Antonin Scalia for perspective: "(If) I'm a new inventor, I'm going to get sued right away."

Exactly. There won’t be any stopping the snowballing of lawsuits. Just as it is insane to hold reputable gun manufacturers responsible every time a gun goes into the wrong hands, we shouldn't target makers of products that are aimed to do good when someone uses it for bad. As if a file-sharing company has any control over what its users use it for.

So Metallica, Don Henley, Sheryl Crow, the Dixie Chicks and others who say their "livelihoods are threatened" can go drop off the face of the earth for all I care.

Your whining is pathetic and, frankly, embarrassing to your fan base.