Napster and File-Sharing Applications

Paper Summary:

Napster is a program allowing users to directly transfer music files without the aid of a centralized file server. Full-length songs may be exchanged in mere minutes through the program, and neither the artists nor the record companies are compensated for their work. The daunting prospect of consumers freely downloading complete libraries of music propelled the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to successfully sue Napster for trafficking in piracy. This paper analyzes the arguments made by both sides, investigates the virtues of the verdict, and discusses other court outcomes that would have been more beneficial to all parties involved. In addition, lawsuits of other file-sharing applications are discussed, including the likely outlook of Internet peer-to-peer sharing for the future.

From the Paper:

"The advent of the Internet has enabled users to promptly and effortlessly share information between one another as never before. While the vast majority of individuals embrace this new technology as a blessing, the capacity to impart so much data has produced a crisis regarding copyright infringement. Napster is a program allowing users to directly transfer music files without the aid of a centralized file server. Individuals are able to gain access to an immense library of copyrighted music, thus rattling the record industry.1 Full-length songs may be exchanged in mere minutes through the program, and neither the artists nor the record companies are compensated for their work. The daunting prospect of consumers freely downloading complete libraries of music propelled the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to successfully sue Napster for trafficking in piracy. The following will analyze the arguments made by both sides, investigate the virtues of the verdict, and discuss other court outcomes that would have been more beneficial to all parties involved. One such result would incorporate monthly fees and bonus features into the software, which would appease the RIAA's concerns and also allows Napster to continue its operations. In addition, the lawsuits recently launched against Morpheus, Kazaa, Grokster, and My.Mp3.com are predicted to result in the continuance of their operations, given that illegitimate files are removed from their respective systems."

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