LEGALESE BLONDERIAA vs. NAPSTER

Daniella NeroUniversity of Hawaii at Manoa AMST 334 Sp-13

RIAA• Recording Industry Association of America• Background

▫Founded in 1952▫Trade organization representing the

recording industry▫Promotes creative and financial vitality of

major music companies• Concept

▫Protect intellectual property▫Protect First Amendment Rights▫Conduct research▫Review state and federal law

NAPSTER• Background

▫Site launched in 1999▫Founders were Shawn Fanning, John Fanning and

Sean Parker▫Program developed while in college,

Northeastern University

• Concept▫Peer-2-peer file sharing site▫Sharing music in mp3 format▫Search function made all music easily accessible▫At its peak, in 2001, almost 30 million people

used the service

LAWSUIT

Plaintiff: RIAA Defendant: Napster

• Lawsuit filed on December 7, 1999

• Sued Napster for copyright infringement▫ Contributory▫ Vicarious

• Sought protection under DCMA

• At stake:▫ Future of Napster▫ Future of p2p file

sharing▫ Relationship between

new technologies, music, users and producers

OTHER OPINIONS• 18 copyright law professors

at American universities: “The decentralized

model of peer-to-peer networking poses a significant challenge to sectors of the entertainment and information businesses that follow a model of centralized control over content distribution”

From Appeal Nos. 00-16401 and 00-16403 to the United States Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit

• D.J. Xealot“Napster is a great promotion tool that provides an

affordable alternative to major labels

for artists like myself”

From “Policing the Internet” by Alan Marzilli, (p.49)

OUTCOME

•Case decided in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on February 12, 2001

•Laws applied in the case:▫17 USC section 501 (Copyright

Infringement)▫17 USC section 106 (Exclusive Rights in

Copyrighted Works)

ETHICAL CONCLUSION

EthicsNorms/ValuesRight/wrong

Theft in a digital society

Record companies/user

s

Utilitarian Approach

Legally vs. ethically right

REFERENCES• http://www.icmrindia.org/free%20resources/casestudies/napster-controversy-1.htm

http://msl1.mit.edu/ESD10/block2/napster_riaa.pdfhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recording_Industry_Association_of_America http://www.riaa.com/aboutus.php?content_selector=about-who-we-are-riaa http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%26M_Records,_Inc._v._Napster,_Inc.#cite_note-Law_Prof_Consortium-13 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napster#cite_note-Declaration_of_D.J._Xealot_in_Supp._of._Napster-22http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/501 http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/106 http://www.law.cornell.edu/copyright/cases/239_F3d_1004.htmhttp://www.linuxjournal.com/article/5059 http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2004-08-01/napster-and-bertelsmann-it-seemed-like-a-good-idea-dot-dot-dot

http://books.google.com/books?id=iBPuna0ZWZoC&pg=PT64&lpg=PT64&dq=napster+skadestand+kostnad&source=bl&ots=jzaB2GyVJj&sig=KBfGI9Ta1Nn19CVRlYiDDw_i1GI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=axdEUYjVPOTgyQGR34HQAg&ved=0CFUQ6AEwBA

http://articles.latimes.com/2003/sep/02/business/fi-morals2http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/thinking.html

• IMAGE CREDITShttp://news.cnet.com/i/bto/20071015/Napster4_logo_270x242.jpghttp://www.takesontech.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/RIAA-Logo.jpg