Reaction Of Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.
Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee
On The Supreme Court’s Decision In MGM v. Grokster
June 27, 2005 

“I have keenly followed, welcomed and championed advances in technology that have opened new opportunities to enjoy music, video, books and other creative works.  Technology is a tool, and when it’s abused, it hurts everyone.  It is important to maintain respect for the intellectual property rights of those who create the works that we want to foster and enjoy.

“This decision means that companies can no longer, with a wink and a nod, absolve themselves from any responsibility for what their products do.  Just as consumers bear a responsibility for using these products to illegally download files, the companies that fashion and promote these tools must share in that obligation.

“This decision is critical to ensuring that copyright owners will have the ability to protect their works in the digital world.  By holding that companies that facilitate massive copyright infringement can be held liable if the facts warrant, the Court has affirmed longstanding interpretations of the Copyright Act.  Where companies exist primarily to facilitate copyright infringement, the law, as enacted by Congress and now interpreted by the Court, gives copyright owners the tools to stop them. 

“I have long been concerned with those companies whose business models are based on theft, and particularly those that induce others to steal, while they reap the financial benefit of that thievery.  Copyrights deserve better protection, technologies deserve better uses, and consumers deserve the benefits that will come from a wide array of legal, efficient, and inexpensive distribution systems for a wide variety of content.

“In interpreting the statute as it did, the Court has crafted an opinion that respects both the protection of copyrights and the need to foster innovation.  We hope that the decision will ensure that companies in the future will show proper respect for copyright and not base business plans on the unlawful uploading and downloading of copyrighted works without permission.”

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(Leahy also serves as Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee’s Intellectual Property Subcommittee, and he and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who chairs the subcommittee, jointly filed an amicus brief in the Grokster case.)