Copyright and encryption big subjekt on Napster case
Tue, 06 Mar 2001 09:48:49 GMT
zdnet.co.uk
If Napster respects copyright and enforces decent encryption, the world's largest music publisher might let it licence songs
Napster got a rare taste of good news yesterday as Vivendi, owner of Universal Music, announced that it might still be willing to work with the song-swap service if it survives its court battles.
Vivendi's chief executive, Jean-Marie Messier, explained that his company would be prepared to licence its music to a legitimate version of Napster, if it was able to demonstrate that it respected copyright and operated secure encryption. Speaking at the Financial Times New Media and Broadcasting conference in London, Messier said that Universal would consider licensing its material to any online platform that satisfied this test.
"Why should we not be on Napster in a couple of months, once it has demonstrated that it respects those two criteria alongside MSN, Yahoo! or Wanadoo?" demanded Messier, adding that his priority is to get Universal's content onto as many platforms as possible.
Last month, Universal and Sony announced that they were planning to launch a rival to Napster. The service -- called Duet -- will let music lovers access digital music, either by subscription or by paying for individual song downloads. Universal is the world's largest music publisher, and Messier said last week that he hoped Duet could carry 50 percent of the world's music.
In an attempt to avoid closure, Napster announced |
