] In an enormous blow to the music and motion picture
] industries, a Los Angeles federal judge dismissed a
] lawsuit against file-sharing services Grokster and
] StreamCast Networks Friday, saying that they can not be
] held culpable for illegal file trading done over their
] networks.
] The ruling, made by U.S. District Court Judge Stephen
] Wilson, represents an almost complete turnaround from
] previous victories the record and motion picture
] industries have had in cases involving illegal
] peer-to-peer (P-to-P) file trading.
]
] In his opinion, Wilson ruled that the P-to-P networks
] have substantial noninfringing uses in addition to
] infringing uses that cannot be dismissed.