Re: Napster destroys Western Civilization

On Fri, 5 May 2000, David Hale <dhale[_at_]aggt.com> wrote, in part:
>
> Napster, however, should (does?) have the means of screening out
> access to copyright protected material. It would be a pain, and
> probably kill Napster's business model, but it is technologically
> possible.

As I understand it, Napster doesn't copy music. It merely provides a way of linking the music files of its users so that any one user has access to all the files. Where the exchange of files takes place between users who own legitimately purchased copies of the works, this would appear to be a non-infringing activity. Under Universal v. Sony, if Napster has a substantial non-infringing use, then it should not be enjoined. My question is, assuming it's technologically possible (and I'm not convinced that it is), should Napster be required to provide a means for determining which of its users' files are legal and which are infringements?

> Robert C. Cumbow
> Graham & Dunn, P.C.
> 1420 Fifth Avenue, 33rd Floor
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> E-mail: rcumbow[_at_]grahamdunn.com
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>

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