Napster marches on Washington

Yep, Shawn Fanning ( the creator of Napster) and his pals are taking it to the streets, organising a march and a free concert in Washington DC on the 3rd of April. Napster's lost in the courts, so now it's turning away from the legal issues to turn

Yep, Shawn Fanning ( the creator of Napster) and his pals are taking it to the streets, organising a march and a free concert in Washington DC on the 3rd of April. Napster's lost in the courts, so now it's turning away from the legal issues to turn the whole issue of file sharing a civil rights matter. On the same day as the demonstration there will be a Senate Judiciary Committee on online copyright issues - but will the legislators even care.

The ability to freely swap MP3s regardless of copyright issues is hardly an issue on a par with racial discrimination or gun control - these are real matters of civil protest. This is not to say that Napster is entirely in the wrong, either; the actions of the RIAA are certainly reprehensible. Outright blocking hurts everyone, when what is really needed is some form of détente between all interested parties: Napster, the users, the record labels, and the musicians themselves.