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 15.6.2000 Security: What the heck is Napster?
Napster CEO Hank Barry said that the issue between Napster and the major record companies boils down to whether it is legal to share MP3 versions of sound recordings over the Internet. Napster says that it is, various recording artists and the RIAA say that it is not.

En français: Napster c'est quoi?
Le président de Napster Hank Barry dit que l'affaire entre Napster et les principales entreprises de l'industrie du disque, est de savoir si il est légal d'échanger des enregistrement audio au format MP3 sur Internet. Napster dit que c'est légal, plusieurs artistes et l'association RIAA disent que non.

 
English version
Napster is a completely new way of thinking about music online.

Imagine...an application that takes the hassle out of searching for MP3s. No more broken links, no more slow downloads, and no more busy, disorganized FTP sites. With Napster, you can locate and download your favorite music in MP3 format from one convenient, easy-to-use interface.

The RIAA, a music industry trade association, contended in court documents that an injunction pending trial should be granted because it is very likely that the group will prevail in its claims against Napster when the case does go to trial. Further, the association says, the continued operation of Napster is having a substantial detrimental impact on the US record business.

In addition to the RIAA, Napster has also been sued directly for copyright infringement by music artists, most notably the hard rock band "Metallica" and rapper, Dr. Dre.

Résumé en français
Napster est une idée nouvelle pour l'échange de la musique en ligne.

Imaginez.. une application qui vous évite de rechercher vous-mêmes les fichiers MP3. Pas de liens brisés, pas de lenteurs de transfert, pas de sites saturés. Avec Napster vous pouvez localiser et charger vos morceaux de musique favoris au format MP3.

Les maisons de disques réunient au sein de la RIAA ont lancé une action en justice contre Napster. De plus certains artistes ont lancé des actions en justice comme le groupe de hardrock "Metallica" et le rappeur Dr. Dre.

Ils accusent Napster de faire chuter le chiffre des ventes de CD. Ce que doit décider la cour, est de savoir si cette technologie de partage de fichiers rend l'entreprise redevable de copyright.

 

However, the argument about whether or not Napster reduces or increases sales of recorded music is not the legal issue before the court. The court must decide if Napster’s file-sharing technology, which it provides users for free, makes the company liable for copyright infringement. Napster’s affect on music sales, by that standard, is irrelevant.

“People are sharing over Napster, not selling,” Barry said, claiming that Napster is doing no harm to the record industry.

Barry said that the record industry’s own numbers indicate that record sales are up. The record industry agrees with that statement, but says that sales of recorded music would be up even more if it weren’t for Napster.

Among the sworn statements filed by the RIAA in support of its motion is a recent study indicating that retail sales of recorded music has dropped significantly around college campuses where students are able to access Napster through schools' high-speed broadband access.

Barry says that sales near college showed a minor decline even before Napster existed, and that the sales figures relied upon by the RIAA do not take into account the impact on the surveyed stores of “big box or online retail competitors.”

In his statement, Barry said that Napster doesn’t do anything but drive up sales by interesting people in music and driving them to buy music.

Of greater relevance is Napster’s argument that each of the major record companies have invested in the hardware and software technology that make it possible for people to listen and share music over the Internet. In addition, Napster says that the record companies permitted software companies to make available the software needed to play the MP3 files and that every PC with a CD player allows consumers to copy CDs. Napster also claims that almost every PC presently on the market comes with the software necessary to create MP3 files.

http://www.napster.com

 
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Revised: juin 15, 2000 .

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