[WEB4LIB] Re: Napster Question (Was Audio Books Being Shared)

[Mark Stover]

Napster may very well be an important prototype for future library 
cooperation.  Certainly there are issues of copyright, authenticity, and 
cataloging.  But much of this is a moot point for many of us in the 
academic world who work at universities that have blocked Napster.  My 
campus said that it was the high flow of traffic that led to the Napster 
ban.  Other universities cite copyright issues and concerns about being 
sued.  But whatever the impetus, the fact is that a number of campuses have 
gone this route, thus depriving (?) librarians of experimenting with this 
cutting edge technology.

Censorship doesn't seem to be the right word for this situation.  And there 
is not really a good analogy to the print world.  But banning Napster 
outright just doesn't seem like the best way to solve this 
problem.  Although when a university is sued under the RICO Act, I suppose 
desperate measures are called for.

For more info see The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 28, 2000.
"Metallica Sues Universities and Napster, Charging That Students Engage in 
Music Piracy"
    The rock band Metallica has filed suit against three universities and 
Napster Inc., whose popular MP3-sharing software lets users exchange music 
files over the Internet....  The suit, filed this month in U.S. District 
Court in Los Angeles, charges the company and the universities with 
copyright infringement and with violating the Racketeer Influenced and 
Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO."


Mark Stover



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Mark Stover, M.L.S., Ph.D.
Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Librarian
San Diego State University Library
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92182-8050
Voice: (619) 594-2131
Fax:  (619) 594-3270
Email:  mstover at mail.sdsu.edu
Author of Leading the Wired Organization (Neal-Schuman, 1999)
http://mark.stover.net
Editor of Behavioral & Social Sciences Librarian
http://mark.stover.net/bssl.htm