Grokster gives up the ghost

The Associated Press is reporting this afternoon that Grokster Ltd. is shutting down its operations.

The developer of Internet file-sharing software, widely used to rip off online copies of movies and music, agreed today to close its service to settle a piracy case.

Here's what we found this afternoon when we visited Grokster's popular website:

********************** The United States Supreme Court unanimously confirmed that using this service to trade copyrighted material is illegal.

Copying copyrighted motion picture and music files using unauthorized peer-to-peer services is illegal and is prosecuted by copyright owners.

There are legal services for downloading music and movies.

This service is not one of them.

Grokster hopes to have a safe and legal service available soon.

If you are interested in that service, go to www.grokster3g.com, or send an email to: [email protected] to be included in the beta for the next generation.

In the meantime, please visit www.respectcopyrights.com and www.musicunited.org to learn more about copyright.

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