Resales And Trades, Post-Grokster

Ross Rubin has some fascinating posts at Engadget as part of his "Switched On" column: La la introduces the CD to P2P and La la, legality, and the long tail. They explore post-MGM v. Grokster legal considerations for businesses (in this instance, la la) built around the resale of copyrighted digital works. Re the business: "On la la, you can trade any CD you have for any CD you want that's available in members' collections for only $1 plus postage." Re the applicable infringement deterrents: "Together, these measures won't do much to stop even casual infringers; and it is naïve to think that traded CDs won't be ripped." Re reality: "I will never again underestimate people's tolerance for gently used items." (Yep; ask parents of young kids, for example.)

(Related: The Peerflix challenge: Rip. Flix. Churn.)

(Related: our article Grokking Grokster: Staying Out of Court and In Business in the Wake of the Supreme Court's Ruling.)

[Technorati tags: mgmvgrokster; grokster; lala; peerflix]