AN JOSE, Calif. – A pair of Supreme Court rulings this week is stoking fears that the Internet is becoming an ever-more centralized platform for entrenched corporate interests — the antithesis of the digital commons envisioned by technophiles and civil libertarians. But others predict that innovation will actually be encouraged by the rulings, since they create a framework of sorts for how to build businesses in the digital age.
The immediate impact of Monday’s decisions against broadband provider Brand X Internet Inc. and file-sharing companies
Grokster Inc. and StreamCast Networks Inc. will be to discourage entrepreneurs from creating products that compete directly against telecommunication conglomerates and Hollywood, said Jim Pickrell, president of Brand X.
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