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Media Law

S/L/268. The Napster controversy: is it illegal to share music?

WORDS:: 1650
DATE:: 2010
PRICE:: 19.99 GBP

As one of the forerunners of music file sharing software, Napster was the first company to be challenged by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for violating music copyright laws. Despite citing the Audio Home Recording Act which “granted consumers the right to transfer digital music for personal, noncommercial use” Napster lost their case. Whether copyright laws have, and continue to be, actually broken is debated, as is the claim that such peer-to-peer services contribute to the decline of music sales.

KEYWORDS: Napster, The Recording Industry Association of America, RIAA, music, digital, download, MP3, music law, copyright laws, music sharing, file sharing, music sales, CD, record companies, bands, musicians, peer-to-peer services!,