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March 29, 2005
Up-to-the-Minute pulver Coverage of Brand X
Well our man in Washington, Jonathan Askin, was not able to get into the Brand X argument, so he is trying to give me a quick play-by-play from the steps of the Supreme Court.
Thanks to OpenPark, Jonathan has Internet Access from the steps of the Supreme Court. If Brand X goes the wrong way, will the Supreme Court become Jonathan's home as he attempts to gain access to alternate ISPs?
Most of the excitement appears to be centered around the Grokster Case. (see photos below) There were many vocal protestors on both sides march at the foot of the Supreme Court. Interestingly, there do not appear to be anyone rallying for or against Brand X. A more sober crowd of lawyers watched and speculated on possible outcomes of the Brand X argument.
While both cases might have dramatic consequences on the consumer's Internet and communications experience, it is quite possible that the seemingly less visible Brand X ruling might prove to have more sweeping effects on the future of one's Internet experience.
No one seemed to get a good read on the Grokster Case, but it did seem that the ISPs were a bit more confident exiting the Supreme Court after the Brand X argument. Justice Scalia, in particular, questioned the FCC logic in its Cable Modem Order which was the subject of the Brand X Argument. Scalia essentially questioned how a service ceases to be the same service once you add another service on top of it. If a car dealer adds windshield wipers to a car, is the dealer no longer selling the underlying car? By analogy, an information service riding on a telecom service still includes an underlying telecom service. Thus, the cable modem service might include an underlying telecom transmission service subject to Title II regulation. If the FCC doesn't want to regulate the underlying transmission service, the proper process might have been the forbearance process.
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Posted by jeff on March 29, 2005 10:48 PM | Permalink
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