In 1984, Hollywood sued Sony for creating a device that could make near perfect copies of their copyrighted intellectual property. They lost, on the basis that the technology had other non-infringing uses, and the age of the VCR was born. Since then, the Betamax test has protected all new technologies. But if Hollywood gets their way, all of that will soon change reports the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Hollywood and the recording industry are asking for the power to sue out of existence any technology that appears to be a threat, even if it passes the Betamax test. That puts at risk any copying technology that Betamax currently protects as well as any new technologies Hollywood doesn't like.

To raise awareness about what's at stake in the Grokster case, EFF is profiling one Betamax-protected gadget every weekday until the oral arguments before the Supreme Court on March 29.

The EFF lists several technological advancements that might be endangered if Hollywood gets their way.

The Xerox machine, invented in 1937:

This machine makes perfect replicas of printed pages. It can expand or contract the images on those pages, change their colors, and collate batches of pages into various configurations. It is ideal for copying pages from books, creating posters, and duplicating pictures.

Silly Putty, invented in the 1940s:

Silly Putty has long been marketed for its ability to transfer prints from newspapers or cartoons. No copyright holder has authorized this copying or the subsequent stretching and distortion users perform on the puttified image, yet Silly Putty's ad campaigns directly encourage these potential infringements (see this 1960's advertisement). Further, Silly Putty can be molded into replicas of copyrighted images, providing nearly limitless infringing fun.

Other items on the list include the VCR, email, and TCP/IP. Sure, these technologies all have legitimate non-infringing uses, but each and every one of them can also be used for evil.