News that Napster was to be shut down sparked a stampede among MP3 music users looking to stock-up before the threatened injunction's deadline - and has cast the spotlight on other peer-to-peer file-swapping systems.
News that Napster was to be shut down sparked a stampede among MP3 music users looking to stock-up before the threatened injunction's deadline - and has cast the spotlight on other peer-to-peer file-swapping systems.
San Francisco-based District Judge Marilyn Patel last Wednesday issued a preliminary injunction against Napster and in favour of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which sued Napster earlier this year, alleging copyright piracy.
This would have prevented the Napster site from using MP3 files; helping people use the files; and copying the files to which the plaintiffs hold rights. Napster executives said they would have had to close the service down as it cannot filter copyrighted material from that in the public domain.
However, late on Friday, a panel of two appeal judges granted Napster a stay of execution, allowing it to remain in business at least until its appeal is heard, probably in September.
Between Wednesday's decision and Friday's deadline, traffic to the Napster site in the US increased by 71 per cent from 443,000 to 758,000 unique visitors, according to statistics compiled by Nielsen Net Ratings.
Another internet audience-monitoring firm, NetValue, said four times as many files than usual had been downloaded using Napster during this period.
Scour.com, which boasts a Napster-like file exchange feature and is also facing a lawsuit, reported an 80 per cent surge in traffic.
Napster-clone File Navigator reported a tenfold increase in traffic, and Gnutella, an open-source file-sharing system, said it is beefing up to handle hugely increased volumes of traffic.
The increased traffic mirrors reaction to the decision by vnunet.com readers, who support Napster but say its users will simply turn to comparably lesser known alternatives and continue as before.
Some readers expressed fears that Judge Patel's decision would set a precedent banning similar programs that swap material in the public domain, such as shareware.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that major US record labels had considered buying Napster. A report in the New York Times cited an unnamed record industry insider as saying talks failed because the labels could not come up with a viable business model while permitting the wide exchange of content that has made Napster so popular. Some 20 million users are claimed to have downloaded its free file-sharing software.
Music publishers, both in the US and UK, say they have aggressively pursued strategies for distributing music online, and are exploring new business models and working to develop secure technology.
However, they say the need to have secure encryption technology that will prevent their music from being freely exchanged makes the task very difficult, and say that Napster makes online music distribution look easier than it is.
See also:
Napster, the website, was built as a central host for users wishing to swap MP3 music files. It has sparked an almighty legal battle over its legitamacy and has changed the way people obtain music.
01 May 2001Online file sharing company Scour said yesterday that it would shut down its file exchange service, as it attempts to settle heavyweight litigation and sell off its remaining assets.
15 Nov 2000US file swapping website Scour has filed for bankruptcy protection, barely three months after it was hit with music and film copyright infringement lawsuits.
13 Oct 2000US startup Gotchaport.com is targeting the Napster community with a service that allows users to legally share music, pictures and documents over the web.
04 Oct 2000The lawsuit filed by US record industry representatives against MP3 file swapping software firm Napster was yesterday scheduled by a US federal appeals court for the week beginning 2 October.
30 Aug 2000Several US web and media industry groups have filed separate legal briefs slamming last month's court verdict that controversial music file sharing site Napster is liable for copyright violation.
29 Aug 2000Hardware giants including Intel, IBM and Hewlett Packard have formed a group to study so-called peer-to-peer computing - the technology that is being popularised by Napster but which could make central servers obsolete.
25 Aug 2000Napster's ongoing legal battle to stay in business resumed in a San Francisco courtroom on Friday afternoon when the online music swapping company argued that a preliminary injunction against it should be thrown out.
21 Aug 2000A program has been developed that enables people to swap software, such as MP3 music files, within the AOL Instant Messaging network.
11 Aug 2000Intel and Matsushita Electric have developed a set of software products for online music distributors aimed at helping record labels gain better confidence in electronic distribution.
09 Aug 2000The music industry has been shaken up by the emergence of MP3-based music websites such as Napster. Critics accuse them of facilitating piracy while advocates say they make it easier for unsigned musicians to have their music heard. We look at what all the fuss is about.
08 Aug 2000Universal Music Group, which this week will begin letting customers download and pay for music over the internet, is the latest record company to accept that a new model for music distribution is inevitable.
04 Aug 2000Digital music firm Liquid Audio could hold the key to the future of embattled music sharing site Napster.
04 Aug 2000Research company Gartner has warned record companies that they will hurt only themselves by pursuing Napster, the music sharing website.
01 Aug 2000Napster was granted a reprieve on Friday just hours before the music-swapping site was due to be effectively shut down.
29 Jul 2000Napster, the music sharing website, has asked fans to help it defeat a court verdict that could see it shut down later today.
28 Jul 2000British music industry officials today welcomed the decision by a US judge to pull the plug on the Napster music swapping system, saying it would help their fight against online music piracy in the UK.
27 Jul 2000A judge in the US has effectively ordered that music-swapping site Napster be closed down.
27 Jul 2000Napster is under fire from all corners of the music industry, but Alan McGee, the man who discovered Oasis, said that overall the music sharing system is actually helping the industry.
25 Jul 2000In another Napster-like scuffle, US movie studios and recording companies have sued a website that allows users to swap music and movie files online.
22 Jul 2000
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