The Napster Debate- Written In January 2001, So Need Court Ruling Fact :: essays research papers

The Napster DebateWhen I first heard the word Napster I had no idea what it was, I thought maybe it was a b be-ass insult phrase going around my high school. With time I figured out that Napster had to do with online medicine. I hadnt seen much reportage on TV and was curious, so I decided to surf the meshing and check it out. Once reaching the site I found no medicament for sale, no discography or lyrics as is common with most medicinal drug sites online. Instead there was a program available for download that allowed user-to-user transferring of medicine files. I went ahead and downloaded the program, not knowing that six months later Napster would maintain a tremendous influence and impact in the music pains, ever-changing the way we view music forever.The Napster softw atomic number 18, launched mid 1999, allows Internet users to share and download MP3 files directly from both computer connected to the Napster network. The software is used by downloading a client program from the Napster site and then connecting to the network with this software, which allows sharing (uploading and downloading) of MP3 files between all users connected to the network. Napster doesnt own any MP3s, nor do people get MP3s through the server. It is strictly a intermediator for user-to-user downloads (Gibney 1).An MP3 file is a type of compressed wave file. The advantage of MP3 files is that they are approximately one-tenth the size of the corresponding wave file and are very high feature. Many artists, record labels and other music industry stakeholders are concerned by the MP3 file format and applications because of the high quality and accessibility (Gibney 1). There are two types of MP3s available on Napster. The first are legal MP3s that are classical by artists to circulate on Napster for promotional purposes. These MP3s are often music selections made by up and coming artists trying to make their music more accessible to the public. The second type of MP3s are not authorized by artists. A Napster user with copyrighted CD material tummy create MP3s with their computer CD ROM drive. Then through Napsters software, the users homemade MP3 is available for trade ( MTV 1). Napster does not physically infringe any copyright laws, its users do. It doesnt remit the use of illegal MP3s in any way, but at the analogous time there is no opportunity in the software to inhabit copyright infringement (Gelber 3).