A federal appeals court upheld a lower court decision holding P2P providers Grokster and Morpheus not liable for copyright infringement by their users. The court suggested content owners seek to alter copyright law “in profound ways with unknown ultimate consequences.” The dist. court ruling against MGM and other studios and record labels had already prompted several senators to fast-track legislation aimed at expressly holding P2P sites liable for “inducing” infringement. We're told content owners can ask for reconsideration of the 3-judge ruling, en banc deliberation by the entire 9th Circuit or review by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Major Questions Doctrine
A USTA plan to get high-tech suppliers to support a deregulatory lobbying campaign may be an antitrust violation, 26 competitive telecom companies plus ALTS and CompTel said in a letter sent Fri. to key congressional committees. USTA invited top executives of high-tech companies to a closed dinner Oct. 20 in Washington to discuss a possible lobbying alliance and seek funding from the suppliers. One Bell official later characterized the plan as a natural move, given that high-tech suppliers had tended to support Bells’ deregulatory campaigns.
Results of today’s races for governor are just as likely to influence telecom policy as are those for narrowly divided Senate, telecom analysts said Mon. Since many don’t see significant telecom legislation working its way through Congress in upcoming 108th session, work of state PUCs is just as likely to have impact on telecom policy, we're told. “Unless there is some kind of consensus, it’s difficult for a split Congress to move,” said Blair Levin of Legg Mason. “Everyone agrees that there’s a problem in the telecom industry, but there’s no consensus as to the nature of the problem.” Yet analysts said much depended on how FCC acted on several proceedings before it.
When Comcast rolls out Voice-over-IP service in Philadelphia next year, as company has said it will do, many in telecom industry and at FCC will be waiting to see how much market share VoIP takes from traditional telephone business. Although no proceeding is teed up on issue at FCC, some among Commission’s staff are thinking about how that new service will be regulated, given that industry analysts predict VoIP eventually will compete and perhaps even overtake circuit-switched telephony delivered by CLECs. Technical issues aside, Comr. Abernathy last week laid out principles of new services doctrine she believes should include light regulatory touch, at least in beginning, while services such as VoIP remain immature competitors (CD Aug 20 p2).