Napster’s “illegality is undeniable?” Hmm. The illegality of its users might be undeniable, but the legality of Napster itself is not so simple (“Logged off,” SN 2/13).

Napster does not possess, transmit or in any way deal with copyrighted material. It simply exchanges information, letting individual users search each others’ hard drives and download songs via the Internet.

If what Napster does is illegal, then virtually every search engine is illegal also. Yahoo and Excite provide the same sort of information for FTP servers. Should they be shut down too?

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act protects Internet service providers from copyright infringement if they merely provide the conduit for piracy. This is the principal defense Napster is using.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals did not rule on the validity of this defense. Rather, like Judge Marilyn Hall Patel, it is trying to shut Napster down without the benefit of a trial. This is unfortunate, both for justice, and for the millions of consumers who could benefit from new forms of digital exchange.

I doubt anyone really wants the music industry, which also sued the manufacturers of blank tapes for copyright infringement, to be given control over the future of media exchange.

Matt Prentice
education graduate student