Metallica finally safe from evil fans

The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a lower court decision that declared the practice of swapping ripped MP3s via Napster is in fact illegal, and in breach of the artist's and record companies' copyright. Vocal Napster opponents

The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a lower court decision that declared the practice of swapping ripped MP3s via Napster is in fact illegal, and in breach of the artist's and record companies' copyright. Vocal Napster opponents Metallica were unsurprisingly quick to comment, proudly stating that 'We are delighted that the court has upheld the rights of all artists to protect and control their creative efforts'.

Interestingly enough, the 9th Court also declared the earlier ruling too broad in its findings, so any shutting down of Napster will have to wait until the earlier injunction is redrafted. Sure enough, thousands were still plugging away at Napster servers today, no doubt getting those last minute Metallica bootlegs they crave so much.

Napster's defence is organised around the Audio Home Recording Act, which declares that the owner of a recording may duplicate it for personal use. The Justice Department, on the other hand, states that a home PC is not a recording device as outlined in the Act. Napster will almost certainly continue to seek legal recourse to keep its server open, and we'll let you know how it develops.
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