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Appeals Court Upholds Napster Ruling
Mike O'Sullivan, Voice of America A three-judge panel Monday upheld a lower-court ruling that Napster could be held liable for copyright infringement if it allows users to share songs without paying for them. An estimated 50 million users visit the Internet site, where more than two million songs can be downloaded using a system called MP.3 file sharing. The court did not order Napster to shut down, but company officials have said that would be the likely effect of the ruling. The panel of judges said the lower-court injunction is too broad, however, and needs to be rewritten to focus more directly on the copyright issue. Napster had argued that it was not responsible for infringement of copyrights by its subscribers. Both the lower court and appeals court disagreed, saying Napster officials knew the infringement was taking place. Napster has been fighting a legal battle against major record companies, but last October it announced an agreement with one of them -- the German media giant Bertelsmann. Since then, the company has reached agreements with two smaller music firms. Napster co-founder Shawn Fanning says he hopes to create more partnerships with the record industry to ensure that artists and songwriters are paid for their work. "The new technologies we are developing are amazing," he said. "I hope that by further review, or by agreement with the record companies, we can find a way to share them with the community." Five record companies, which brought the lawsuit against Napster, say its song-swapping system could cost them billions of dollars in profits. The music industry is hoping to use similar technology to distribute songs on the Internet, while ensuring that copyright holders receive payment.
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
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