Word: napster
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Many legal experts are calling Napster the underdog in this week's legal face-off. In addition to Judge Patel's initial ruling in the case, the music industry was heartened by a New York federal court decision in April that MP3.com another music-sharing service, had violated music copyrights. MP3.com ended up settling with some of the record companies suing it, agreeing to pay some $100 million and to hand over licensing fees in the future. But even if the record companies defeat Napster, that will not solve the problem they created when they digitized music in the first...
...Boies starts by saying copyright does not apply to noncommercial uses like Napster. The service is free, and users don't charge one another for the music. So, he argues, it isn't piracy at all. He also notes that in the VCR case, the Supreme Court endorsed the idea of "fair use"--that if a product could be used for a legal purpose (like taping TV shows to be watched at a more convenient time), the product itself was legal. Boies says Napster also relies on fair use. In addition to copyrighted songs, it offers files from...
...record companies respond that Napster is used overwhelmingly "to engage in music piracy, and very little else." The industry cites an internal Napster document embracing the goals of bringing about "the death of the CD" and making record stores obsolete. And it has produced a survey--whose findings are challenged by Napster--in which 22% of Napster users said they don't buy CDs anymore or buy fewer. "It doesn't require rocket science to say you are going to have a very hard time selling something if someone is giving it away," says Cary Sherman, general counsel...
Large companies aren't always good at tugging on the public's heartstrings. But artists like Hootie & the Blowfish and Alanis Morissette have joined the anti-Napster chorus. In a full-page ad that ran in newspapers nationwide, more than 60 musical groups urged that "when our music is available online our rights should be respected." Metallica and rapster Dr. Dre have filed their own lawsuits against Napster. It's not unanimous, though: Limp Bizkit, for one, is pro-Napster--and Napster is sponsoring the group's current tour...
Hollywood fat cats, be warned. If you've been relishing the sight of record executives squirming in the grip of Napster, enjoy it while you can; you may soon be squirming yourselves. Using a new technology called DivX, video buffs can now swap copies of The Matrix online the same way audiophiles trade Metallica singles...