15 Years Since Napster, What Have We Learned?

Do we all remember Napster? The legendary website which gave individuals from around the world the means to download as much free music as their hearts desired. 15 years ago, Napster entered into our lives and changed the digital music world forever. Have we come up with a way to share music, where all parties involved, are happy with the resulting paycheck? Consequently, that answer is no. Here we are in 2014, the legal battle still rages forward over the control and distribution of music.

This past March, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, granted a summary judgment motion in a copyright infringement case, Capitol Records, Inc. v. MP3tunes, LLC, 07 Civ. 9931, 2013 WL 19872225 (S.D.N.Y. May 14, 2013). The case revolves around the illegal use of an online digital locker in which users could upload music from their personal music collections and play the songs from any device, provided they were connected to the internet. The company also operated a website called Sideload.com, which gave users recommendations based on their music preferences.

The judge found that the company and Michael Robertson (the executive for MP3tube.com) demonstrated willful blindness and had “red flag knowledge” of the infringing activity. Even though Robertson argued that he complied with the requests to remove certain songs, and that he had permission to keep specific songs up on the site. Unfortunately for Robertson and MP3tunes, a jury returned a damages award for a mere $41 Million. This dispute is not over just yet as Robertson has moved to have the ruling overturned, and the damages amount reconsidered on appeal.

This recent case demonstrates the fact that as technology advances, the legal implications advance too. Cloud computing services are unique to this day and age. Cloud computing is a service where one can share their personal information and resources between different devices while connected to a network. This type of technology could only be dreamed about15 years ago.

So, what have we learnt since the fall of Napster? With technology drastically changing it is hard for the law to keep pace. That being said, with no quick Band-Aid solution in the foreseeable future, it is important to stay flexible and open-minded when faced with these legal issues. Keeping the focus on protecting the artists and the integrity of the music should be the main concern. After all, without the music, there would be nothing to fight about.

By: Stacy M. Pigden, Associate Editor of Art, Publishing, Music & Fashion

photo credit: Josh Russell via photopin and cc