Ruling gives Napster 72 hours to comply

SAN FRANCISCO, MARCH 7. A U.S. federal judge's injunction against Napster says the popular online song-swap service must begin blocking access to music files within 72 hours of receiving official notification that they are covered by recording industry copyright.

Judge Marilyn Hall Patel, in a ruling issued late Monday, instructed Napster to stop ``engaging in, or facilitating others in, copying, downloading, uploading, transmitting, or distributing copyrighted sound recordings." But in the wording that heartened supporters of the wildly popular online music service, the judge placed part of the onus on the recording industry, instructing it to identify exactly which music files it wants blocked.

Among the issues addressed in the ruling: the plaintiffs in the case, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), must provide Napster with the title and artist name for each work, an example of an online music file available over Napster which contains the work, and certification that the work is copyrighted.

Ms. Patel said all parties must use `reasonable means' to identify variations in online file names covering copyrighted music. She said Napster itself should take responsibility for comparing its system files against lists submitted by the recording industry, saying the results of these searches would provide Napster with ``reasonable knowledge of specific infringing files."

Ms. Patel's order says that once Napster has ``reasonable knowledge" of copyright infringement, it has three days to remove such files from its music index.

Bowing to one recording industry request, Ms. Patel also instructed Napster to accept notification from the RIAA of coming releases from popular musicians likely to be pirated over the Napster service, and to begin blocking such music files upon the first sign that they are being traded over its system.

Napster was instructed to inform plaintiffs and the court in five days of the steps it has taken to comply with the judge's order.

Ms. Patel said either Napster or the recording industry could request another court hearing if problems emerge with its compliance, but that such a request would not stay her injunction.

- Reuters

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