Question

Compare and contrast the Supreme Court ruling on Sony vs. Universal(also known as Betamax case) to MGM vs. Grosker. Explain in some details the differences in these two situations that led the court to reach opposite conclusions

Answer 1

Sony vs Universal case also known as Betamax case was a case in 1984. Sony had developed a product that could record a TV broadcasted show during its runtime. Universal and other companies alerted from this development decided to sue Sony in court for making unauthorised copy of their copright material.

Court ruled in favour of Sony mentioning that devices meant for home use are personal and don't infringe copyright laws. Also court could not mention a number of product users that could potentially be considered to have infringed the copyright law.

MGM v. Grokster case first appeared in a court in year 2001. It was decided in year 2005. MGM and a consortium of 28 companies decided to sue Grokster and Streamcast for breaking copyright law. Grokster and Streamcast had developed a peer to peer software that provided copyright material of plaintiffs for free. Court decided against Grokster and Streamcast stating that defendants could be sued. In digital age, it could be sensed that mass copyright infringement occurs via the software.

Courts by showing Grokster and Streamcast internal employees email could show that Grokster and Streamcast had planned the software to capture market of Napster when it is sued and closed. In its promotional material, Grokster and Streamcast clearly showed their intentions to provide ways to download copyright material for free.