"Don't Shoot The Messenger: Copyright Infringement In The Digital Age".

Mondaq Business Briefing, November, 2003

Music Industry Lawyer and Senior Lecturer in Law, Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

From the humble VHS machine to Internet file swapping, the issue of hardware and software - which has both infringing and non-infringing uses - has long troubled the courts on a global basis. Recently, different technologies have faced their scrutiny: since 2000 a number of cases have been focused on peer-2-peer file swapping on the Internet, but manufacturers and others who provide, produce, write and manufacture software and/or hardware capable of copyright infringement, have also found themselves at the receiving end of lawsuits.

In 2003 the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) launched an action in the High...