Google, Better than Limewire for Downloading MP3s: Where’s the Justice?

Andrew Wise [ http://wisestartupblog.com/author/andrew%20wise/ ]

September 11, 2008

I’m personally not a big supporter of Limewire, for obvious reasons [ http://listen.grooveshark.com/ ], but rather get the majority of my music via streaming as opposed to actual downloads.

But the truth is, Limewire is being sued to all oblivion by the RIAA and has so far been able to hold off a judgement on the lawsuit and has even sent the lawsuit up to the Supreme Court [ http://voices.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2008/07/us_supreme_court_judge_data_ex_1.html ].

Google Is More Efficient than Limewire

Aside from the fact that the Limewire lawsuit hasn’t been settled yet, we still have Google offering, arguably better functionality for finding free MP3s than Limewire, without any major repercussions form the RIAA.

In the video below, we can see how to find almost any MP3, ebooks, etc. all for free, all from the Google search bar.

[ http://www.youtube.com/v/sRv953XZX6Y&hl=en&fs=1 ]

Significant Non-infringing Uses

Google caches search results to make the user experience better and to increase their quality of service. During this caching process, everything gets included, including MP3s, videos, etc.

Google’s position has been that they are simply a ’search engine’ with ’significant non-infringing uses’ which has enabled them to pretty much steer clear of the majority of the lawsuits.

This is similar to what Veoh has done in regards to their battles [ http://www.infoworld.com/news/feeds/08/08/28/Veoh-ruling-bolsters-YouTube-effort-to-fend-off-Viacom-suit.html?source=gs ] with the MPAA.

Veoh and Google Are the Pioneers

The reason this defense is so important is the user-experience really is the key element here. The RIAA doesn’t understand how to monetize content in this web 2.0 world. People like Google and Veoh clearly do, and by being able to continue to operate, they’re generating revenue and proving a new business model for people to follow in the future.

Without these web pioneers, we’re going to be stuck trying to drill for oil instead of trying to invent solar power [ http://wisestartupblog.com/major-breakthrough-in-solar-power-could-solve-our-energy-problems/994 ] that’s going to change the world.

Do you think Google should try to block this content or do the means justify the ends?