Napster Dilemma :: essays research papers

A major business ethics issue has surfaced which has a dramatic impact on the recording industry and may affect additional industries. As this issue of our newsletter goes to press, the 9th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals in San Francisco, California should be close to rendering a decision in the Napster case. This case has been in the limelight for several months, and many people are following it with great interest since they have important stakes in its outcome. Many college and university students, faculty and administrators have been particularly tuned in to the case, since Napster is very popular on campuses. Regardless of its outcome, the case is expected to transcend the parties involved and have an immense impact on the future of cyberspace, the internet, and the information highway. In this article, I will bring the readers up to date on the case, including the court arguments presented in support of both sides. As one can imagine, the legal documents in the case are very voluminous, technical and complex. So to make it easier for the reader to follow, I am presenting the key points in layman's terms. What is Napster and how does it work? In early 1999, Shawn Fanning, a Northeastern University freshman, created Napster software. That summer he made it available for free through his Napster.com website. Napster is a peer-to-peer technology, which makes it possible for users to freely share their music files through the internet with other users all over the world. Specifically, this is how Napster works: A user sends a request for a song. Napster checks its database of music to see if the song is on the PC hard-drive of another Napster user whose computer is turned on (Note: No music is stored on Napster servers). Napster finds the song. Napster sends the song in MP3 format to the user who requested it. What is the controversy and status of the case? The record industry alleges that Napster is engaging in or assisting others in copying copyrighted music without payment or the express permission of the rights owner. The chronology of the case is, as follows: December 6, 1999: the record industry sued Napster in Federal District Court for copyright infringements, and petitioned that court to shut down Napster. July 26, 2000: the judge issued a temporary injunction to shut down Napster. July 27, 2000: Napster appealed the ruling before the U.