Mashboxx to swallow Grokster?
p2p news / p2pnet:- Are Mashboxx and Grokster soon to be united to become Grockboxx?
Mashboxx, the much vaunted but so far unseen and untried corporate ‘p2p’ application, is reportedly making a move to take over the famous independent p2p application Grokster and it’ll be doubly ironic if the news is indeed true.
Not only did Grokster (almost as despised as Kazaa) star in the infamous Grokster vs MGM trial, but Mashboxx boss Wayne Rosso ran Grokster before he was lured away to become president of Blubster, based in Spain.
Soon afterwards, partnered by Madrid-based lawyers Ignacio Lucea and Lucas Sáenz du Buruaga, he jumped the fence to join the corporate music league with Mashboox, which also boasts Sony heavyweight Andy Lack as one of the core team members.
“Any deal would depend on the record labels dropping their pending legal claims against Grokster,” says the Wall Street Journal.
“To encourage the file-sharing companies and their users to go legitimate, the labels are seriously considering dropping such claims, some record executives say. In fact, say people close to the talks, Grokster is negotiating a settlement with the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America). The RIAA and Grokster declined to comment.”
We weren’t able to reach Rosso for a comment either.
But, “Even if the RIAA succeeds in shutting down or co-opting U.S.-based file-sharing services, illegal file sharing will likely continue,” the story correctly observes.
“Millions of users already have the software that allows them to participate in file-sharing networks, so even if the companies that distribute it close or start changing newly distributed copies of the software, it won’t necessarily affect those users’ habits.”
Meanwhile, in a far more important development than the possible Grokster Mashboxx deal, but which has so far received scant attention from the mainstream media, three American mothers have decided to defy the labels in their sue ‘em all product marketing scheme.
It’s a wave that could turn into tsunami.
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First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win
- Mohandas Gandhi
See:-
jumped the fence – Wayne Rosso leaves Optisoft, June 8, 2004
Wall Street Journal – Grokster Seeks Deal With File-Sharing Upstart, September 19, 2005
far more important – The ‘We’re Not Taking Any More’ club, September 17, 2005
