Supremes silent on Grokster case

One last chance for a decision this season

By Thomas C Greene in Washington DC • Get more from this author

Posted in Music and Media, 20th June 2005 16:24 GMT

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The US Supreme Court has declined to issue a ruling on the MGM v. Grokster case today, as it had been expected to do. There is one week left in the Court's schedule this season, so it is likely that there will either be an answer next Monday, or none this session.

At issue is whether P2P network operators Grokster and StreamCast should be held liable for users' copyright infringement. Since they do not host or control the data on the networks, it has been hoped that the Supremes will let them off the hook for the actions of others.

There is no word on the cause of the delay, and no indication of whether the case will be decided this session. It remains likely that a decision will be announced next Monday, although it is possible that the Court might issue it later this week, or order an additional round of arguments that would push the decision into the next session.

Decisions are typically released on Mondays, but observers are now hoping for word on Thursday, 23 June. ®