Mark Cuban on Grokster

Email from David Goldenberg: "At first glance, it would seem that the Supreme Court has dealt Mark Cuban, who helped fund Grokster's legal team, a pretty severe blow. But Cuban says the Supreme Court focused on how the technology was marketed, and not the technology itself, and thinks that the ruling will stem any moves by Congress toward passing laws that could potentially be even more restrictive of technology. Cuban spoke to Gelf about the case, whether his money was well-spent, and why one reaction to the ruling is 'lame, brain-dead and foolhardy.' Here's a snip:

Gelf Magazine: Is this a major victory for the entertainment and recording industries?
 

Mark Cuban: No. It's a major victory for lawyers everywhere. The entertainment industries didn't stop anyone or anything. The amount of illegal file-sharing didn't change a bit because of the ruling, nor will the industry be able to change anything as a result of the ruling. They just got the right to sue some people—Grokster et al—who don't have any money. That's not a victory. They may take license and try to sue technology companies that they feel present a threat to them. Honestly, that will be worse than suing students and grandmothers because it will be obvious what they are trying to do and it will rally all the technology companies, venture capitalists, businesspeople, and entrepreneurs against them because of the inherent threat to their businesses.