Napster Legality

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Napster & Peer-to-peer File Sharing…
A Crime?? Not According to the facts.

Most people who have been paying any attention to the news have heard of an online service called Napster. Although Napster may have millions of members, many people have absolutely no idea what Napster is, or why it is the topic of so much controversy. In recent months, the music industry has faced several pressing issues involving Napster. MP3’s are the real issue behind Napster. MP3’s are a computer file format that greatly reduces the file size of a track on a CD. Due to the compact file of the music, they can be easily transmitted over the Internet. Once the files are stored on the computer’s hard drive they can be played as many times as the user would like to listen to them. To add to the dissatisfaction of the music industry, peer-to-peer file sharing services, like Napster, have gained huge popularity in the last few years. The industry is trying to prove that Napster is hurting their sales, which causes damage to their business and is illegal on the basis of copyright infringement. If one were to look into this matter a little deeper they would see that this is not true. Napster and other peer-to-peer networks are legal and are protected under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
A peer-to-peer file sharing service has two main functions, one of which is that it provides Internet chat rooms and instant message services. It also allows users to scan the hard drives of other users to search for an MP3. Once the desired MP3 is located the user searching for the file is able to download the file directly to their personal
Grohs 2 computer’s hard drive. When the user obtains the file, it then becomes searchable and downloadable by other users. As more users download the same file, the odds of another user locating that file greatly increases, as more people on the network are offering it for download. This makes the spread of an individual files move swiftly.
The most popular of these services on the Internet is Napster. As Napster has gained popularity, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has sued the service claiming that Napster provides a safe haven for users to trade copyrighted material. The music industry believes there is a significant decrease in sales due to the existence of services like Napster and this causes substantial damage to their business.

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