"This service is not one of them"

Four months after the Supreme Court Decision . . .

We hold that one who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright, as shown by clear expression or other affirmative steps taken to foster infringement, is liable for the resulting acts of infringement by third parties.

. . . Grokster is throwing in the towel.

New York Times: LOS ANGELES, Nov. 7 - Grokster, a developer of file-swapping software used to trade copyrighted music and movie files, said Monday that it would halt distribution of the software and cut off support for its associated network as part of a landmark settlement with the recording industry and Hollywood studios . . .

For its part, Grokster has added a new message to its Web site: "There are legal services for downloading music and movies. This service is not one of them."

The music industry is determined to carry on their campaign against their own customers in the face of all evidence that what they are really managing to do is estrange a large percentage of the herd of possible future cash cows.

New York Times:: A result, industry executives say, should be to corral digital piracy to the point that it is a tolerable nuisance instead of a huge drain.
If the industry can hang on, music executives say, its four major record corporations will eventually rejuvenate their businesses with new products, including digital downloads, ring tones and music videos.

Hanging on by one's fingernails while hoping that ring tones will bail you out might seem a bit desperate to the more cynical amongst us.

The Motley Fool, as usual, sees things a little differently:

It's tempting to call this a victory for Hollywood. Perhaps it is. But I think it's a much bigger victory for Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer.

Whatever the spin and whomever turns out to profit the most in the future, it is obvious that the industry is not going to give up their fight to maintain complete control over the music, even if they have to alienate their customers and line the pockets of a handful of entrepeneurs in the process.

Business as usual?