It is an historic moment for the media and entertainment industry.  The US Supreme Court hearing - MGM vs. Grokster - is the biggest media distribution case since the Sony Betamax (VCR) case of 1984.  The fight is over what liability technology companies incur for the infringing behavior (aka piracy) by the users of their technology. 

The backdrop is an age-old battle. Media Industry vs. new media distribution technology. Copyright vs. Innovation.  It is a battle that has been fought over the phonograph, the photocopier, the tape deck, the VCR, and now P2P, or peer-to-peer, technology. It is part of a bigger struggle to harmonise the goals of content ownership with those of technology innovation.