Here is CNN's take on the judgment:
cnn.com
Napster says it will appeal ruling
February 12, 2001
Web posted at: 4:38 p.m. EST (2138 GMT)
From staff and wire reports
SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) --
Napster attorney David Boies said the
company would appeal Monday's
federal appeals court ruling that found
Napster must stop millions of users
from exchanging copyrighted musical
recordings.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that
Napster knew its users were violating copyright laws, but it allowed the service
to continue operating until a lower court redrafts its injunction.
Boies said Napster would ask the full 9th Circuit to
reconsider the decision.
Hank Barry, the CEO of Napster, criticized the
ruling.
"We're disappointed in today's ruling," Barry said.
"Under this decision, Napster could be shut even
before a trial on the merits." He vowed to pursue
"every legal avenue to keep Napster operating."
Napster founder Shawn Fanning said that
Monday's decision would not be the end for the
service.
"Napster works because people who love music
share and participate," Fanning said. "Along the
way, many people said it would never work.
We've heard that we couldn't survive before --
when we had 700,000 members, and when we had
17 million members. Today we have more than 50
million members, and we'll all find a way to keep
this community growing," he said.
Hilary Rosen, president and chief executive officer
of the Recording Industry Association of America,
hailed the appeals' court decision.
"This is a clear victory," Rosen said. "The court of
appeals found that the injunction is not only
warranted, but required. And it ruled in our favor
on every legal issue presented."
The RIAA, which represents a host of record
companies, including Warner Records, owned by
CNN parent company AOL-Time Warner, filed a
federal lawsuit against Napster just months after
the popular song-swapping service launched in
1999. The lawsuit claims that Napster could rob
them of billions of dollars in lost profits.
The court found that the Napster had infringed on
the copyright holders' rights to control the
reproduction and distribution of their music.
It also said that the recording industry "would
likely prevail" in its lawsuit against Napster.
However, the appeals court said the scope of the
preliminary injunction issued last July was
"overbroad" and must be redrawn.
"The preliminary injunction which we stayed is overbroad because it places on
Napster the entire burden of ensuring that no 'copying, downloading, uploading,
transmitting, or distributing' of plaintiffs' works occur on the system," the court
ruled.
Napster says its service does not violate any copyright laws, and that it is
protected by the Audio Home Recording Act, which allows people to record
music for personal use.
The Justice Department has claimed in court that the act does not protect
Napster because a home computer is not a recording device as defined in that
statute.
Millions of users flooded the site over the weekend to download free music.
Webnoize, a Web site that monitors the digital entertainment economy, estimated
that 250 million songs were downloaded using Napster over the weekend.
Webnoize said that, on average, 1.5 million users were logged on to the system
at any one time.
Since the October hearing, Napster has reached agreements with a number of
record labels, including Bertelsmann AG, the parent company of BMG. It
promised to drop its lawsuit against Napster and to invest in the company once it
creates a service that pays artists' royalties.
Napster and Bertelsmann announced plans last month to launch a
subscription-based service. |
