Napster has always said that, because it does not store the music
files on its servers, it is not responsible for the use of its
service by individuals who share copyrighted song files stored on
their hard drives. It also argues that US copyright law allows
non-commercial sharing of music files by individuals.
The judges of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San
Francisco has to decide whether to uphold a lower court’s order
issued in July when Napster was said to be guilty of “wholesale”
copyright infringement. The order has been suspended until now, but
if imposed by the appeals court, it would in effect stop Napster
from facilitating the exchange of most MP3 music files. The order
could only then be lifted if Napster ultimately wins its case on
the question of copyright infringement which may not be resolved
this year.
Whichever party loses the case at this stage is expected to
attempt to appeal the decision to the US Supreme Court.
On its web site, Napster alerts users to the imminent decision,
adding, “We have great confidence in our legal position.”
Uncertainty over the future of the service fuelled a surge in use
of the service over the weekend which now has in excess of 50
million registered usernames.
The appeals court
website will publish its opinion.
