As File Sharing Nears High Court, Net Specialists Worry: As the bitter debate over computer file sharing heads toward the Supreme Court, the pro-technology camp is growing increasingly anxious.
Some technologists warn that if the court decides in favor of the music and recording industries after hearing arguments in the MGM v. Grokster case on March 29, the ruling could also stifle a proliferating set of new Internet-based services that have nothing to do with the sharing of copyrighted music and movies at issue in the court case. [...]
The court case could hinge in part on the entertainment industry's argument that advanced computing technology now makes it possible for consumer electronics designers to create technology that can distinguish between legal and illegal file copying.
The Internet technologists worry that, if the court accepts that reasoning, Hollywood could end up dictating the technical specifications for digital technology in a way that would choke off future innovation. In fact, they point out that peer-to-peer applications are now branching out in all directions from more basic file-sharing origins.
