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Napster to Block Files, Faces Injunction
 This morning, the popular file sharing service Napster appeared before Judge Marilyn Patel in San Francisco federal court this morning to defend against an injunction which could potentially shut down the service for good. Napster CEO Hank Barry announced that it will unveil a system to screen out copyrighted content some time "this weekend."
 The recording industry sent Napster a list of filenames and artist/title information. Based on this list Napster must come up with some way of making sure that those songs do not appear when users run a search. "If the RIAA provides album titles, Napster should have to do whatever they have to do," said RIAA attorney Russell Frackman. Napster will need to remove songs based on the way users search. "They don't want to, but they can."
Contrary to what Napster previously asserted in court, they are now admitting that they do have the ability to enforce such a proposal. Napster is now confessing that there are technical means that can block clearly identifiable copyrighted materials. Judge Patel said that not all of the weight should fall on Napster. There is to be a "shared burden" between the recording labels and Napster.
Not all music copyright holders are totally happy with they way blocking schemes look. "Independent artist concerns are different than those represented by the labels," said the attorney representing non-label artists. Any proposal that filters copyrighted songs based on song title could potentially block files that artists want to be released. Simply because songs have the same name, doesn't mean that they are the same song. Frackman argued that despite that, the burden must be on Napster to decide the differences.
 After the two and a half hour hearing, Hilary Rosen, spokesperson for the RIAA responded to concerns around the litigation. The $1 billion settlement offer by Napster would elicit "no industry response." Such agreements would have to be made with individual labels and artists. Rosen said that there was no need for Napster to propose a settlement, or wait for a final injunction to start running legitimately. "They can immediately take steps to go forward."
 Hank Barry, Napster CEO, reaffirmed the company's commitment to its users. He stated that they are working to settle the case and develop solutions that work for the consumers and the artists at the same time. Napster's users are among the "best consumers and biggest fans." Despite the rise in popularity of Napster alternatives, Barry is somewhat optimistic. "People will make their own choices on what to do."
The end of today's hearings is by no means an end to Napster's legal issues. Judge Patel did not issue her amended temporary injunction today and sources indicate that an injunction is not likely for at least 3 to 4 days. After that, Napster must still face a trial where the company could see severe fines of up to $100,000 per infringement.
User Comments
(These do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of this site)
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Anonymous
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Date: March 2, 2001 @ 5:17 PM
When June rolls around, are YOU gonna pay for the new subscription based model? |
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Anonymous
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Date: March 2, 2001 @ 6:55 PM
No comment at the moment. |
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simcom
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Date: March 2, 2001 @ 8:15 PM
Everyone head over to www.bearshare.com or www.limewire.com and download a Gnutella client!! VIVA LA MP3!!! |
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simcom
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Date: March 2, 2001 @ 8:15 PM
Hell No. |
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Daedalus
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Date: March 3, 2001 @ 1:13 AM
What will be next? Will the RIAA want to stop all sales of Tape recorders, CDR/Ws, and radios? What is stopping or has been stopping people from recording music from the radio and other sources of music up till now?? O.K. then let's get REALLY STUPID then!! Lets hold all radio stations responsible for their listeners that have, will or are going to record music off their stations, lets hold all public libraries and institutions that lend or rent ie. Video stores, copy righted materials responsible for the same. And what about the sellers of and manufacturers of radios,VCRs,CDR/Ws,Tape Recorders and the like, should they not also be held accountable! Come on you people, Lets get REAL, there is no way to control the world population! Learn your history, Many have tried and failed. Instead of the RIAA spending their (Piarated from the artist) money on trying to shut out their Cash Cows (us), They should be spending it on trying to learn to adapt to the NEW MUSIC BUSINESS!!! Long Live Napster!!! |
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Anonymous
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Date: March 3, 2001 @ 3:37 AM
Obviously, the fact that people can edit the ID3 tag in MP3 files and rename the files to M3ta11ic4 or something has failed to register in the RIAA's train of thought.
Just installing filename filters just won't work. |
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Anonymous
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Date: March 3, 2001 @ 8:48 AM
Wow are they stupid. Kill napster and they spread gnutella and freenet(espra when working).
I would pay for a subscription based napster as I do agree the artists should get money - for one very good reason. If an alternative revenue stream is established for artists via internet distribution record companies have no reason to exist. Hopefully artists will dump their record contracts and leave these greedy companies in favour of net based deals instead. Result we get more music at less cost, artists get money and more control. RIAA = old world industry heading for extinction. |
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Anonymous
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Date: March 3, 2001 @ 8:52 AM
A few thoughts on this whole subject:
First of all, I bet that Gnutella is already surging in popularity
because of this, even though as of a few minutes ago Napster had
not put up any shields as far as I know. And on the subject of
renaming, that would be a bit hard. I mean, sure, everybody could
come together and say "OK, let's spell the names backwards" or "Ok,
let's ROT13 the names" or "Ok, let's incorporate the real artist
and title of the files within some other message" or "Ok, let's use
letter substitutions" or "Ok, let's use abbreviations of some
kind". But any widely used system is likely to be noticed by
Napster and then the renamed files will also be blocked. And if a
new filenaming system wasn't widely known then people looking for
music on Napster would sort of have to second guess each other.
Just a few thoughts. And incase you can't tell I really like the
Napster system. Yeah, Gnutella's allright and I'll start using it
since Napster's captain has apparently said "Shields up!"
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Anonymous
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Date: March 3, 2001 @ 5:17 PM
Actually, try gnotella (win32 client) instead of Bearshare and/or other clients. www.gnotella.com. It works really well, and has at least one feature that other current clients don't have, which is the mp3 bitrate/stats info. :-) |
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maddad47
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Date: March 4, 2001 @ 3:53 AM
It's going to keep artist without majaor labels from getting heard and force Metalica to come out with something worth buying.
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Anonymous
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Date: March 4, 2001 @ 1:20 PM
To pay or not to pay... that is the question... well lemme think here ... NOOOOOOOOOOO
The RIAA can kiss my ass as i am downloading from gnutella, filetopia or even imesh... Greed will never get you anywhere in this world.. i hope that they (RIAA) realize this. |
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Anonymous
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Date: March 4, 2001 @ 3:40 PM
Why should I? Most of the songs I've been downloading, I already have bought.. They're out in the living room in my record collection. For me, the whole issue is having a playlist of songs I can listen to while I'm working on the computer. Screw the record industry, hey, if they don't want people hearing their precious bands, that just means this consumer won't be buying any new CD's.. it's not like radio plays anything good. Where else is there to catch new music? MTV? What a joke! Naah, this argument plays as tired as the record industry's claim that "Home Taping is Killing the Music Industry" did nearly 20 years ago, and is similar to them squealing about the big retail chains re-selling used CD's. They're a bunch of brownnosing pussy-boys, interested in their pensions.. They could give a shit about music. If they're in financial straits, it's cause the industry is more interested in pandering to spoiled teens that shop in malls and listen to pop cheese. What goes around, comes around, remember that RIAA. |
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Zamboni
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Date: March 4, 2001 @ 11:57 PM
Give it up RIAA. You have already lost. Now you are looking stupid and wasting your time playing your dumb game of "wack a mole" trying to shut things down. The more you try, the more people will join. Try and stop the people from sharing. Try and stop the wind! |
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Anonymous
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Date: March 5, 2001 @ 9:16 AM
Does anynone know more about the filter mechanism? Does Napster use MD5 Hashes of the songs in combination with filenamelists or so? |
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woopa93
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Date: March 5, 2001 @ 9:40 AM
Napster is SOOO gone from my PC.
Long Live BearShare and the Gnutella Network.
p.s. Keep that sharing feeling. |
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Anonymous
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Date: March 5, 2001 @ 11:49 PM
Lets just take a moment to think about what brought the end of Napster. If I remember correctly it was the "fan based" Metallica and doggydog coattail riding Dr Dre that really kicked it in the stomach. I hate to say this, but what does this say about bands like Dave Matthews Band who post their ENTIRE FUCKING ALBUM on Napster ect before they release it. Man, is greed an ugly thing.......... |
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DrunkenIrish
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Date: March 5, 2001 @ 11:53 PM
Good fucking lord what are you talking about? yeah, you, the last guy talking about sheilds up and such. Take note, we are now watching the last gasps of Napster, but Fanning's brainchild of free music via the internet will not die. It's too bad that the figurehead must be sacrificed, but by doing so don't you think the message is being proliforated? People know more about Napster because of it's death, not it's life. And it represents all of society thumbing their noses at huge corporations that are looking for control, and that is the message that will live long after napster is buried. |
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Anonymous
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Date: March 6, 2001 @ 7:27 AM
Napster uses the MD5 hash of the first 300kb of each mp3. Mp3s can be searched for based upon MD5 (check the protocol spec on opennap.sourceforge.net). Not sure if any clients support this yet. |
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noam35
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Date: March 6, 2001 @ 6:17 PM
This is how revolutions begin. The powers that be will find much to their suprise that we control the power, not them. The Internet is the peoples tool and will contiue to be. Cut off an arm three grow back. Long Live the New Flesh!!!! |
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Anonymous
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Date: March 7, 2001 @ 9:41 AM
You are all loosers - too poor to buy CD |
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Anonymous
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Date: March 7, 2001 @ 7:35 PM
Hey i ahve an idea how abotu we shut down the radio and all the other recording stuff. I mean they are all the same as Napster. Artists arent loosing money, people download one of their songs to see if they like it. If they liek it they buy the CD. Sounds like you make more money to me. Dr. Dre can kiss my ass because he isnt getting any poorer, i mean, look at his car, house, and all his jewelry. Metallica is too old and cant keep up so they are just whining. Shut down Napster and everyone switche to gnotella. Looks like RIAA didnt know what they were getting into. |
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Anonymous
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Date: March 7, 2001 @ 7:36 PM
hey dorks---CDs dont cost that much u cheap skates
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Anonymous
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Date: March 8, 2001 @ 11:49 PM
The who wrote before I did Is a moron it's not for the $ it's for the free shareware internet future
DUMB ASS!! |
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Spinmonster
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Date: March 9, 2001 @ 12:04 AM
I agree with you 100% RIAAs attempt to stop the World from sharing MP3s will be futile indeed. Software companies have tried for years to eliminate sharing of their products and those attempts have been defeated. We always find a way to beat them at their own game. Great Post |
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Spinmonster
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Date: March 9, 2001 @ 12:08 AM
Yea, OK Mr. Russia. You are talking to the very affluent United States. Too Poor to buy CDs ??? no, as a matter of fact I own over 200 myself. Can you say the same and really mean it ? I doubt it. |
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Anonymous
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Date: March 11, 2001 @ 11:52 PM
To person above... That's not quite true. It's still partially about the $... But if you listen to the groups that are just starting out that don't have the backing of gigantoid record-label companies, Napster is one of the few ways to be heard and get their art out into the public! Napster is truly a service to the people, both to the consumer and to the artist. No, it doesn't cater to the money-hogging capitalist $!#&@es who whine about people copying their CDs onto tapes. It caters to the underdog. And to those who whine about 'Oh, you're too cheap to buy a CD'... I would never have heard most of the songs that are now my absolute favorites if it weren't for Napster. I intend to go buy the CDs BECAUSE of Napster, for a couple reasons. One, the artist DOES deserve recognition for their work and talents, and 2) I just can't lug my computer around everywhere to listen to music. :] |
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Anonymous
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Date: March 11, 2001 @ 11:54 PM
Oh - and one more thing. I really hate buying something only to find out I don't like it. Buying four CDs and only having two that have even a couple songs that are worth keeping... That's over $40 right there, just to have a handful of songs. IMO, that's a waste. (But that's how the record companies make their big bucks.) |
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Anonymous
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Date: March 12, 2001 @ 9:11 PM
listen up, the gte.cablemodem guy is right. Its about freedom! There are plenty of file sharing programs from gnutella to kazaa. Its just that napster is the most popular one, and is being picked apart by the whining of the music industry. Its not napsters fault for folding, they have to, the judge is just doing what she thinks is politically right. Its not napsters fault that the judge is blind to see the truth about file sharing. Songs can be recorded on tape through the radio, so are they gonna stop making tapes? It's a shame that napster is being hit, but rest assure, file trading will continue, and will not stop. That is an entity of our freedom. Dont fall for the bad wrap the media tries to put on napster, they are just another file sharing network. |
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Anonymous
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Date: March 13, 2001 @ 1:59 PM
I'm also with you 100%, if they are gonna shut down Napster, then they are gonna hafta go after all the other stuff out there.... |
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Anonymous
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Date: March 14, 2001 @ 7:03 PM
I have a great idea on how to make RIAA goes crazy.
Create a file using microsoftword or notepad and enter "This file is copyright 2001 by "
Now save the file as one of the many copyright song-title.
Now offer the file on NAPSTER or any other file sharing network.
Good luck for the RIAA trying to copyright or banned a file name. Come to think of it, the RIAA has to download virtually every possible song on the net to make sure it is the right song and not some junky file
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CRose8
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Date: March 16, 2001 @ 9:20 PM
Yeah like he/she said ^^^^
You don't know who many CD'S that I have had to buy... Because I just like one song on it. They say it isn't about the money..yeah right!!
If it wasn't don't you think they would put more then one or 2 good songs on a CD. I love napster...If I listen to a song or 2 or 3 and like them I will buy the CD...Because there is no skips etc. etc. from store bought ones...As matter of fact just last week my husband went and bought a 2 part CD. for 30.00$. So yes we like what we hear on Napster or any shared files place we will still go out and buy CD's.. Maybe You'll start to put more good songs on a CD. Care more for us. Your fans..the ones that buy your music...Us the ones you have gotten so rich from....
If you would of made your CD's better in first place...and had alot of songs on them....{good ones} who would of ever thought of starting something like Napster...hmmm we wouldn't of needed it then RITE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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CRose8
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Date: March 16, 2001 @ 9:22 PM
OH yeah... P.S. You'll never stop us any way....Napster shuts down..well...we'll always start another one!!! |
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CRose8
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Date: March 16, 2001 @ 9:26 PM
Sharing files will live forever!!! Some way or anothr ..I already made 2 coments 3rd one up... |
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shtfrbrains
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Date: March 17, 2001 @ 7:47 PM
the door is open, the genie is out of the bottle and there is no turning back....when history is written , napster will have been the irresistable force with which it all began...all hail king hank ...now let the sharing begin .......FOR REAL ... |
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shtfrbrains
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Date: March 17, 2001 @ 7:48 PM
ps ...napster good ..RIAA...bad |
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