This paper takes the position that it is not in the best interests of the public for the government to shut down Napster. The company, which was founded last year, is one of the Internet's fastest-growing Web sites and enables users to find and trade songs between computers, free of charge. In December 1999, Napster was sued by major record companies which contended that the company was contributing to copyright infringement. Napster should be allowed to continue its free service for the following reasons:
1. The Napster concept is cutting edge technology; its high powered connections are fast, easy and convenient. The Napster concept could revolutionize infotech and energize the PC industry.
2. Napster technology can help everyone involved in music-consumers, artists and the industry.
3. Napster users, which number about 20 million, are more likely to buy music both online and in retail stores because Napster acts as an instigator of sales. Data indicates that Napster is not harming the record industry.
4. College students, the largest users of Napster, are using Napster to try out songs not as a replacement to CDs.
5. What Napster users are doing falls under fair use and thus does not violate copyright.
6. Napster encourages positive values by working like a co-op. Its peer-to-peer networks are based on community sharing, not profits; consumers make copies of music from and for one another free of charge and thus it is a non-commercial activity.
Napster was founded in September 1999 in San Mateo, California by 19-year old Shawn Fanning and 20-year old Sean Parker. Napster developed a new type of software that enabled people to trade music files over the Internet free of charge. As such, Napster represented a new concept for exchanging information that goes beyond the balance of power in the music/recording industry ("Napster: The Hot Idea of the Year," retrieved at library.northernlight.com).
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