Tim Halle, our Technology Subcommittee Chair, send me a .pdf copy of the Brief of the National Venture Capital Association as Amicus Curiae in support of Respondents in the very important, METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER STUDIOS INC., ET AL., Petitioners, v. GROKSTER, LTD., ET AL., Respondents. Download amicusbrief.pdf
Tim thought that I would be surprised that the VC’s were coming out in support of file sharing. I am not. The brief is well written, thoughtful and makes sense. It argues that old ways are not necessarily better than new ways and that you can’t blame the creators of technology if the law of unintended consequences dis-intermediates or obfuscates older, outdated methodologies. (I especially like the part where they talk about Apple iTunes and iPods — I guess every story has three sides.)
Notwithstanding, this argument is not about technology or the law, it’s about money. Big money. And so, sound, cogent arguments are not going to win the day – the money is.
Here’s the fun part. It almost doesn’t matter what the court decides. As I have many times before, “… you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube.” File sharing is here to stay. P2P is here to stay. Consumer control of content is here to stay. You can’t legislate against it, you can’t win the technology arms race against it — it cannot be stopped! Rick Mandler, VP/GM of ABC’s Enhanced TV likes to say, “Free is very pro consumer!” Rick is right, free is a compelling value proposition and consumers are adopting behaviors which exploit this reality at an alarming rate.
Is there a solution? Yes. There are several. None of them will make everyone happy. Only a compete overhaul of the way we value and compensate content creators, inventors and rights holders will fix this problem. And, unless I’m very mistaken, we’re about to get an up-close and personal look at power of information as it is technologically empowered to metamorphose into currency.
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