What with last week’s hectic schedule — the oral argument in the Supreme Court over the Grokster case, last-minute filings in the broadcast-flag challenge, and various concerns over the student newspaper at my alma mater — I didn’t get much of a chance to blog last week.

Still, I have had the chance to read what other people have been blogging here and there, and came across this excellent screed by Barry Ritholtz on his Big Picture blog. Ritholtz questions whether the recording industry really is well-positioned to make moral arguments against downloading, given that industry’s own spotty moral history. A similar point might be made about the film industry, and to some extent has been made already by Larry Lessig in his book FREE CULTURE

If you heard the Grokster oral argument, or reports about it, you know that the Supreme Court asked a number of questions about whether there should be an “inducement of infringement” cause of action. Since it seems clear to me that the justices weren’t completely satisfied by the answers to these questions, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Court decided to hold the case over for reargument on “inducement.” If that happens, remember you heard it here first.

—–