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Page 15
THE BATTALION
ownload Incomplete
apster legal defense is an insult to precedent copyright law, company should lose lawsuit to RIAA
ANDY HANCOCK/Tfn-: Bah
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he battle
over MP3
distribu-
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in-
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garting to re-
mble an
pisode of
TV's
Celebrity Death Match.”
In one corner stands the pro-Napster
ontingency headlined by the boys of
imp Bizkit. In the other is Metallica, rep-
:senting stingy old fiends with the gall to
xpect compensation for the use of their
roperty.
Although this matchup will likely end
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Piracy Online
Special Series
Part 1 oF 3
in clay on MTV, the case’s real details
are much more complicated than anything
11s Lane could sort out.
Whether the battle is fought in a court-
:oom or the squared circle, Napster should
lose its case against the Recording Indus
try Association of America (RIAA).
Napster Inc. is fighting to survive in a
California court because the RIAA has,
quite correctly, accused the young soft
ware company of facilitating rampant
copyright infringement. For years, RIAA
has unsuccessfully sued various other
players in the MP3 game, until the break
through case against MP3.com.
Earlier this year, the RIAA won a mul-
timillion-dollar lawsuit against the Web
site for making online versions of CDs
available to the site’s My MP3.com
suscribers.
The MP3 situation has reached a crux,
and it is time for the courts to make the
right decision. The RIAA should win its
suit against Napster, shutting down the
service and cutting the head off a promi
nent source of criminal activity.
In July, Napster entered its first brief to
California Judge Marilyn Patel. Napster’s
brief focused on two simple points: There
are correct, legal uses of Napster, and not
allMP3s are illegal.
Napster’s first point is one many other
MP3 companies have used to defend
themselves in court. Most MP3-related op
erations have remained legal by constantly
finding loopholes. Because some MP3s
are legally released by their owners or are
copied, or ripped, from a CD the consumer
owns, MP3 applications, Websites and
portable devices maintain a possibility for
legal use.
Likewise, Napster’s July brief stated
that its service is legal because it can be
used to trade legal files — that the poten
tial for legal use justifies its overwhelming
illegal use. This logic amounts to little
more than pulling the wool over the
judge’s eyes.
Sure, Napster has legal uses, but so do
gups. Just because guns have legal uses
does not mean there should not be regula
tions on who owns one and how they are
used. Even though Napster lawyers con
tend the application can be used legally,
this does not guarantee its legality.
A more realistic comparison is Sony’s
Betamax technology. In 1984, when
the motion-picture industry sued Sony
over the company’s Betamax home
video recorder, the precedent of defin
ing a technology’s legality was set.
The courts decided that, if a technolo
gy has “substantial non-infringing uses,”
consumers could not be denied access to
it. While the Internet, the MP3 file format,
MP3 applications and Websites all have
“substantial non-infringing uses,” Napster,
as it is currently being used, does not.
The vast majority of file trading using
Napster servers is blatant copyright in
fringement. To contest that Napster’s few
legal transactions prove the program’s le
gality is working a loophole well enough
to make any politician proud.
The second point of Napster’s original
brief contends that the 1992 Audio Home
Recording Act (AHRA) and last year’s
RIAA/Diamond Multimedia Systems law
suit protect the trading of music files for
non-commercial use. The law states that
consumers can make digital recordings
of music for private use, but those
recordings cannot be copied for other
consumers.
Unfortunately for Napster users, they,
are copying files for other users, even if
they are sharing MP3s they legally ripped
from their own CD. The AHRA allows
people to make MP3s, but posting them
for mass distribution is still illegal.
Napster’s July legal argument verified
the fact that the program has legal uses and
that some MP3s are legal, but this is not
enough to save Napster. Accordingly,
Judge Patel slapped an injunction on the
company, requiring it to unlist all illegal
files. While this injunction would have
temporarily shut down Napster, the com
pany’s lawyers quickly fired back
with an appeal that
has kept the service up
and running for now.
On Friday, Napster
filed a more complete
brief to once again
fight for the applica
tion’s legality. Nap
ster contends it
cannot comply
with Patel’s ruling
to filter out illegal
MP3s because “file names often do not
distinctly identify ... whether the music is
from a CD (in which the plaintiff record
ing companies may own the rights) or a
recording of live concert (which many
artists allow to be freely circulated ...),” so
it cannot effectively remove illegal files.
The brief also states that following Pa
tel’s request would restrict its users and so
ciety from the innovative and important
peer-to-peer technology. While it is
true filtering out the bad from
the good would require a
total redesign of Nap
ster’s technology, and
would deprive users of the program’s few
legal uses, doing so is a necessary step to
finally make Napster a legal application
and ensure that those who own the copy
rights, be it the artist or the record compa
ny, stay in control of their property.
Napster may not want to hear it, but a
line has to be drawn between the inno
cence of the program’s potential and the
blatant criminality of trading copyrighted
files. Napster’s users are breaking copy
right laws with almost every point and
click. Napster’s legal arguments have kept
it online so far, but the loopholes are run
ning out.
As sad as it may be, the end of
Napster in its current state will
come sooner or later. If the
RIAA wins this lawsuit, the
second generation of peer-
to-peer trading, one that
satisfies all parties and
does not make a mockery
of copyright laws, can be
ushered in.
Eric Dickens is a senior
English major.
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Bull Board
>ubishi recall
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affecting 88,000 cars ;
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knowledge of w
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ember.
Good bull — With the ap
preciation of many students, the
Department of Food Services
will continue the Outbound
Dining option for meal
plans at all campus din
ing facilities through the
fall semester. Upper
classmen: remember
the days before the ex
pansion of Outbound
Dining? The only op
tions were to eat at a din
ing hall or redeem a
measly Aggie Meal Credit
(AMC). Contrary to Food
Services’ catch phrase, dining
on campus was nowhere near
fun back then — more like frus
trating. With Sbisa Dining Hall
scheduled to reopen for the spring
semester, most students should
hope things do not go back to the
way they were.
Bad bull — The steamy
open-mouth kiss between Vice
President A1 Gore and Tipper, his
wife, at last week’s Democratic
National Convention was extreme
ly cringe-worthy.
One must feel some sympathy
for the man — he was seconds
away from giving the speech of
his political life and all he had
to do was embrace his wife
before he went to the podi
um. Instead, he fumbled
and added more fodder to
, his awkward robotic per-
| sona. One can only specu
late what Gore’s exact
thoughts were as he ap
proached his wife:
“Whatever you do, Al, do
not look awkward. Do not
look awkward. Hug Tipper
— check. Gaze into her eyes
— check. Peck her on the lips
... wait a minute.
Something is wrong. Why are
we awkwardly staring at each oth
er? Just kiss her before things get
worse. Danger! Danger! Does
not compute! Does not compute!”
— David Lee
Tradition of overhype
Despite risk of letdown, new students can find help
JESSICA
CRUTCHER
N ot sur
prising
ly, fresh
man year is
difficult for stu
dents at Texas
A&M. It is the
year they arrive
on campus, of
ten hours away from anyone they
know. No one care how important
they were in high school.
No matter how much scholar
ship or financial aid money one re
ceives, it probably will not go as
far as expected. If students are for
tunate enough to make it through
the entire year without subsisting
solely on ramen noodles at some
point in time, they should thank the
gods that be for this blessing.
Is Texas A&M an
excellent school? Yes.
But it is not the happiest
place on earth, where good
grades flow freely and
everyone says "howdy.
Considering all of this, one can
become disillusioned rather quick
ly with the whole “Fightin’ Texas
Aggie Spirit” front A&M is so
fond of presenting.
College life is not as fun as it
was made out to be during re
cruiting sessions and freshman
orientation.
Far from being one big happy
family, A&M has the same number
of squabbling student groups with
inflated senses of self importance
as every other major university.
Many students will discover
that counselors and office person
nel are not quite as helpful after
their money got reeled hook line
and sinker into that void that is the
Texas A&M University System.
One of this writer’s most vivid
memories of freshman year was
walking into a University office
that shall remain nameless to re-
-quest an appointment in person
since phone calls had gone unre
turned for five days.
Imagine the joy with which this
response was met: “Look, all our
counselors are really busy recruit
ing right now, and they just don’t
have time to talk to you.” So much
for caring staff at a University
where everyone is supposedly
more than a number.
Is Texas A&M an excellent
school? Yes. But it is not the hap
piest place on earth, where good
grades flow freely and everyone
says “howdy.” There really are
people out there who care. Some
where. The hard part is figuring
out who they are.
There are entirely too many stu
dents who stumble blindly through
their college careers because they
have no idea who to turn to for
help.
Thankfully, several programs
are devoted to helping students re
solve conflicts. These organiza
tions include the Student Counsel
ing Service, the Department of
Student Life, Residence Life, the
Student Financial Aid Office, and
the Department of Multicultural
Services.
The Student Counseling Service
provides a wide variety of services,
from crisis counseling to career ad
vice.
The Department of Student
Life’s goal is to provide education,
outreach, and support for students.
It also provides services for specif
ic groups of students, such as mi-
Considering all of this,
one can become disillu
sioned rather quickly with
the whole "Fightin' Texas
Aggie Spirit" front A&M is
so fond of presenting. Col
lege life is not as fun as it
was made out to be during
recruiting sessions and
freshman orientation
norities and gay and lesbian
groups.
The Student Financial Aid Of
fice can be a lifesaver for students
struggling to pay tuition. More in
formation can be found at
http://vpsa.tamu.edu/services.htm.
Texas A&M really is a top-
notch University, but it is not the
idyllic place people make it out to
be. Despite A&M’s drawbacks,
freshmen should remember there
are places to go for help.
No matter how horrible things
seem, there is a good chance some
one out there has the ability to fix
the problem.
And in the long run, if students
can find that helpful person, every
thing really will be all right.
Jessica Crutcher is a junior
journalism major.