From TNPC issue #4.05...

What Does the Napster Decision Have To Do with Me?

by T.J. Lee
March 8, 2001

A quick comment on the whole Napster hoopla. Napster is a service that allows users to connect to each other for the purpose of sharing files. Specifically, MP3 files. This has allowed hundreds of thousands of users, if not millions, to "share" music files. You buy a CD, rip the tracks onto your hard disk, and someone else downloads them.

As you might imagine the music industry has taken a dim view of what it sees as a blatant rip-off of their copyrights (and a reduction in their profits). Napster is nearly at the end of their legal ropes and the music industry is closing in for the kill, hoping to shut Napster down. A court has ruled that Napster has to police the files that go through its service and stop the copyright infringement that may be going on.

So how does this affect the average computer user who doesn't care beans for downloading music on the Web?

Putting aside the practical and philosophical arguments about who is ripping off whom, the gut buster of this case is one where the service is being held responsible for the content that goes across its hardware. See the connection yet? When you email someone you send him or her text (your message) and you may or may not attach a file to your message. Is your text original? Have you compromised a copyright in your message? What about that file attachment? Is it your file or are you sending a file that violates a copyright? Looks like your ISP stands a good chance of becoming the responsible party under any Napster ruling to see that you are not breaking a third party's copyright.

This won't happen overnight. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act specifically exempts ISPs from any liability resulting in failing to oversee copyright infringements due to files passing through their servers. But the final solution to Napster could be the first step to going after your local ISP. Consider that Napster generates a lot of traffic. It's likely that "sharing" services will avoid the fate of Napster by going offshore. Then who can the music industry go after? If they decide they have to go to the end user then the only way to get to them is through the ISP. Ah, stay tuned.

You can reach T.J. Lee at:
mailto:tj_lee@TheNakedPC.com

Return to Top

TNPC Hot Tips:

• Email out of control? Spam filling your inbox? People trying to steal your identity? Same here - until I applied these tips. You can too in a new multimedia e-book. Tame Your Email.

• DO YOU MAKE THESE MONEY MISTAKES? Do you know that trying to pay off your high interest rate debts first and/or paying extra on more than one debt is the SLOWEST way to get out of debt? Don't make these same mistakes. Learn more at by clicking here...