Features

LOS ANGELES — A federal judge set a Sept. 30 trial date in a lawsuit filed by major movie studios against Internet file swapping service StreamCast after declining Monday to dismiss part of the case. 

The defense had sought the dismissal by arguing that the popular swapping program known as Morpheus is capable of more than merely letting users swap music, video and other work protected by studio copyrights. 

The attorney representing StreamCast, which distributes the software, suggested the studios should be targeting the people who use the software to distribute illegal copies of films rather than the software itself. 

U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Wilson allowed the case to proceed, saying the plaintiffs should have time for discovery before any dismissal decision is made. 

Morpheus allows individual users to swap photos, music, video and other digital files directly. 

Unlike Napster, which has been shut down after the major record studios sued for copyright infringement, StreamCast does not keep track of who is on the system or what they are swapping. 

Movie studios contend that Morpheus and similar Internet programs allow users to share bootlegged copies of full-length motion pictures. 

The attorney representing the studios asked the judge for time to prove the connection between the software and its use. 

“We are not opposed to peer-to-peer technology if the content on there is proper,” said David Kendall, an attorney for the plaintiffs.