“The judge vents her wrath on the Napster “monster” and
closes the music-swapping service — for now.“
“As of Friday at midnight PDT, Napster must shut down — or find
some way to prevent its 20 million users from trading any songs
copyrighted by the 18 record companies suing the MP3-swapping
service for copyright infringement. This was the order of U.S.
District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel, who on Wednesday granted the
recording industry the preliminary junction it was looking for,
after poking holes in Napster’s arguments throughout a tense
two-hour hearing.”
“It’s pretty much acknowledged by Napster that this is
infringement, because of the users’ agreement which implies
infringement and by statements made in their own documents,” Patel
said, in explaining her ruling — which, barring last-minute legal
maneuvering or reversal between now and Friday, will remain in
effect until she reaches a final decision in the case. The
“statements” she refers to are early e-mail messages written by
Napster’s teenage founder Shawn Fanning and others who helped build
the business, touting their software as a way to get your favorite
songs.”