Doron Ben-Atar on Grokster

Unable to go after actual violators of their intellectual property, the studios target P2P developers whose programs, among other things, facilitate some piracy. But it is impossible to contain the abuse of technology without undermining the free flow of knowledge that is the prerequisite for innovation. In order to prevent 12-year-olds from downloading their favorite movie, the plaintiffs and their allies in the Justice Department are threatening our most cherished economic assets -- the public sphere of knowledge and the conditions of intellectual exchange. Shutting down software companies that develop file-sharing technologies will only push programming into other national jurisdictions. The United States can stay ahead of its competitors only by remaining the world's leader in innovation and creative entrepreneurship. Protecting the culture of innovation and allowing P2P development to take place in the United States are in the true interest of the nation.

Excerpted from Hollywood Profits v. Technological Progress [via]