A good place to start seems to be with stating some facts about copyright laws and providing some background information. In order to make an educated decision on any topic, one should have as much information as possible to make the analysis more complete and in depth. The basis of the copyright laws is that the artist/author/creator is the sole proprietor of his/her creations and it is illegal for outside parties to reproduce and redistribute his work. The first copyright law was adopted in the U.S. in 1790. The current copyright law for the most part adheres to the Copyright Act of 1976. In 1992, Congress agreed to pass the Audio Home Recording Act, which made it possible for people to make copies of music for personal use. In 1998, Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which barred people from circumventing password-protected and other secure Web sites that provide access to creative works. The artist/author/creator's durational limitation on copyrights is the author's life plus fifty years. This is just some basic information about copyright laws involved in this discussion. Next, we should discuss the issue of Napster's copyright l

Napster Inc. was created by Shawn Fanning in May of 1999 in order for internet users to freely swap music (MP3) files. This is how the lawsuit against Napster's infringement on copyright policies first started in December of 1999: "The music industry's trade group has sued a small startup company, alleging it is operating as a "haven" for music piracy on the Internet by making illegal copies of MP3 files freely available... The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), in a lawsuit filed this week in the U.S. District Court in Northern California, accused Napster Inc. of violating federal and state laws through "contributory and vicarious copyright infringement," the RIAA (RIAA represents the major U.S. record labels) said..." * However, Napster does have a disclaimer on its website which states that: "...copying or distributing unauthorized MP3 files may violate U.S. and foreign copyright, adding that compliance with the law is the responsibility of the end-user." * Should Napster still be held accountable? After all, isn't that pretty much the same thing as the disclaimer that runs at the beginning of VHS tapes warning users not to make illegal copies...etc? Apparently not, because in early May of 2000: "The motion for summary judgment Napster had filed as part of it's defense of a lawsuit brought against the startup by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) was rejected by U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Patel in San Francisco... Patel rejected Napster's motion for summary judgment, in which the company claimed it only acted as a "conduit" for information. Patel's decision means the lawsuit will go to trial... " ** The reason that Napster selected this claim as it's strategy was that had the court agreed with it, Napster would have been granted protection under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. *** "Napster since then has focused on its two strongest remaining defenses. The first, known as the "pencil defense," requires that Napster show it is a tool that has many noninfringing uses, like a pencil or a VCR. To that end, Napster has negotiated deals with independent record labels to build a case that the system is used within the recording industry to promote music... The second and perhaps stronger argument focuses on whether the behavior of Napster users, downloading MP3s, violates the law." *** One should keep in mind that Napster is not really accused of violating copyright, but instead, of enabling users to do so.

Finally, right now there are new technologies in development that will make file sharing more difficult by not allowing CDs to be readily copied onto a computer's hard drive, thus eliminating the ability to share them. Instead of suing each other, record labels, RIAA and internet companies need to get together and figure out a way to put those and other technologies to good use. Furthermore, laws need strict and immediate revision to eliminate loopholes and define just what is acceptable. That is, of cour

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Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)