MP3Tunes 'Safe Harbor' Court Challenge Approaching

markjhood2003 sends along an update on a story we first discussed two years back: EMI's lawsuit against MP3Tunes on the claim that cloud storage of music is illegal. The case has gathered importance as cloud computing has grown in capability and acceptance. Opposition briefs in the case are due on Wednesday and oral arguments will start in January. EMI is making the unusual move (the opposition calls it "desperate") of insisting that the EFF's friend-of-the-court brief not be accepted. "EMI says the brief filed last week by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and other groups supporting MP3tunes’s argument that it’s not responsible for what music its users store on its servers should be barred because it is 'a pure advocacy piece, not a "friend of the court."' Amicus curiae briefs are often filed by interest groups and the government in cases that could set major precedents, in order to illustrate the broader ramifications of the case. ... After three years of litigation, EMI argues that EFF’s brief is too long, thereby 'circumventing' the court’s 'page restrictions' causing 'additional burden' to the court and “prejudice” to the EMI. ... In addition, EMI says, EFF’s brief 'contains unsupported speculation that is not helpful to the Court.' Anyone can submit such a brief as long as they’re not a party to the case, and judges have full discretion whether to accept them. They almost always do."

Re:line length in posts

[Anonymous Coward]

So what? That's not how web browsers work. If you want narrower columns of text, you resize your browser window. It's not up to you to cut up your content in rows of x characters.

Re:Enough Already.

[SuricouRaven]

You can play interesting legal games with this. The OFF System p2p, for example, allows you to download a potentially infringing file without ever actually downloading any of the data within - only completly random data. Twice as much as in the file you want. But, if XORed in the correct way... out comes what you really want. It's billed as a p2p network that's completly legal, unless you assemble the files at the recieving eng (Which, of course, can't be easily detected by an observer). I doubt it'd stand up in court, but it's still an interesting concept.