1. NAPSTER
Business Law Briefing
Shannon Brown
Robyn McGonigle
Erika L. LaMarch
Christine Pedicone
Kelly Ann Baker
29 November 2006

2. Introduction
 Shannon Brown
Background
 Robyn McGonigle
Plaintiff Case
 Erika L. LaMarch
Defendants Case
 Christine Pedicone
Outcome
 Kelly Baker
Impact

3. Background
 Napster Current Standing Biography:
 Publicly traded on NASDAQ as NAPS ticker
symbol
 Currently 145 Employees
 Formerly called Roxio
 500,000 subscribers
 Music licensed from 2 million record companies
http://www.hoovers.com/napster/--
ID__102418--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml

4. Technology
 1987 MPEG-3 by
Moving Picture
Experts Group
 Ripping
 Computer
 CD
 MusicShare linkage
through the internet

5. Issue
 Is peer to peer file transfer infringement?
 Fact
 Industry data for CD’s since before and after
Napster’s inception.

6. Introduction
 Shannon Brown
Background
 Robyn McGonigle
Plaintiff Case
 Erika L. LaMarch
Defendants Case
 Christine Pedicone
Outcome
 Kelly Baker
Impact

7. Prosecutors Facts
 Case Law: Fonovisa Incorporated vs. Cherry
Auction Incorporated
 Decision: one cannot sell copied recordings at a flea
market.
 Direct Infringement through reproducing and
distributing copyrighted material
 Does RIAA vs. Diamond Multimedia Systems
Inc. provide that;
 “Napster was designed for the purpose of facilitating
piracy, and…it’s users are using its service
overwhelmingly to trade MP3 files.”
 RIAA point: Napster’s link to music provides
“substantial ongoing control.”

8. Introduction
 Shannon Brown
Background
 Robyn McGonigle
Plaintiff Case
 Erika L. LaMarch
Defendants Case
 Christine Pedicone
Outcome
 Kelly Baker
Impact

9. Defendant’s Facts
 Sony Corporation of America vs. Universal
City Studios Incorporated
 Taping TV programs is noninfringing
 AHRA Audio Home Recording Act
 Personal use of digital copies
 Defense:
 Fair use definition
 Every search engine could be liable
 “[providing a link] is not enough to render the
provider of the link contributorily liable for the
content at the linked location”

10. BREAK

11. Agenda
 Shannon Brown
Background
 Robyn McGonigle
Plaintiff Case
 Erika L. LaMarch
Defendants Case
 Christine Pedicone
Outcome
 Kelly Baker
Impact

12. Decision
 Ninth court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel of the Northern District
of California
 Supports RIAA vs. Diamond Multimedia Systems Inc.
 Found the defense’s use of case law to
be, “perplexing”, “irrelevant”, and “explicitly excluding PCs”.
 Refers to Copyright Law statutes in response to Fair Use
definition.
 Disapproves of the centralized search
 Napster’s linking service is found indirectly infringing
 District Court finds direct infringement by Napster’s users
 Preliminary court moves for injunction to stop the transfer
of music.
 Ninth Circuit affirmed preliminary court’s decision

13. Agenda
 Shannon Brown
Background
 Robyn McGonigle
Plaintiff Case
 Erika L. LaMarch
Defendants Case
 Christine Pedicone
Outcome
 Kelly Baker
Impact

14. Following Lawsuits
 Scour.com provides videos and music and
is simultaneously sued by Motion Picture
Association of America in Southern District
of New York.

15. Napster’s Current Standings
 Music licensed from 2 million record
companies
 Publicly traded on NASDAQ as NAPS ticker
symbol
 Currently 145 Employees
 Formerly called Roxio
 500,000 subscribers
 Competition
 Apple
 RealNetworks

16. 100
80
60
40
Net Income
20
Revenue
Profit
0
-20
-40
-60
2004 2005 2006

17. For more information contact us
 Shannon Brown
sbrown@studentmail.immaculata.edu
 Robyn McGonigle
rmcgonigle@studentmail.immaculata.edu
 Erika L. LaMarch
elamarch@studentmail.immaculata.edu
 Christine Pedicone
cpedicone@studentmail.immaculata.edu
 Kelly Baker
kbaker1@studentmail.immaculata.edu

18. References
 “Napster’s Last Stand?” by Alan Sutin and
Wayne Josel
 www.hoovers.com/napster/--ID__102418-
-/free-co-factsheet.xhtml
 “Ninth Circuit Upholds Napster
Injunction, Narrows Scope Slightly” by
Aspen Publishers

19. QUESTIONS