[FYI] Napster and Record Industry Clash Over Sales and Copyrights

["Axel H Horns" <horns@ipjur.com>]

http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/07/biztech/articles/04music.htm
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July 4, 2000


Napster and Record Industry Clash Over Sales and Copyrights  

By MATT RICHTEL  

SAN FRANCISCO, July 3 -- Napster, the embattled Internet music start-
up, today asked a federal judge not to shut down its service, 
asserting in a court brief that individual Napster users are doing 
nothing illegal by making personal collections of copyrighted music 
they download over the Internet.  

In the brief filed in federal court in San Francisco, Napster lawyers 
also argued the service enhances record sales rather than erodes 
them, an assertion that the record industry strongly disputes and one 
that could be central to determining the outcome of the case.  

[...]

In its brief, Napster's legal team, led by David Boies, who argued 
the government's antitrust case against Microsoft, said people who 
use Napster are permitted to download files under the federal Audio 
Home Recording Act of 1992. Mr. Boies said the act permits copying of 
files for personal, noncommercial use.  

"If a consumer can copy an MP3 file from his or her hard drive 
without violating the copyright laws, it is self-evident that 
Napster's Internet directory service does not violate the copyright 
laws either," according to the brief.  

[...]

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