Report: Napster banned at 34 percent of U.S. colleges

From...

by George A. Chidi Jr.

(IDG) -- Thirty-four percent of U.S. colleges and universities have banned the music file trading program Napster for Internet users surfing over campus servers, according to a report from technology market research company Gartner Group.

As students return to campus from summer vacation, college administrators wrestle with the legal and ethical questions surrounding the controversial program from Napster Inc.

Napster is due back in court sometime between Oct. 2 and Oct. 6 in San Francisco, according to published reports, where a three-judge panel from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) accusing the company of copyright infringement.

MORE COMPUTING INTELLIGENCE

IDG.net home page

Download free software from PCWorld.com

ITWorld.com: The IT Problem-Solving Network

TechInformer: The Thinking Internaut's Guide to the Tech Industry

E-BusinessWorld

Reviews & in-depth info at IDG.net

Top how-to's and advice from IDG.net

Subscribe to IDG.net's free daily newsletters

Questions about computers? Let IDG.net's editors help you

Personal computing news and reviews from IDG.net

Search IDG.net in 12 languages

News Radio

Fusion audio primers

Computerworld Minute

Napster allows its users to trade MP3-format music files over the Web, which violates music industry copyrights and robs artists of royalties for the reproductions, according to the RIAA. Napster says it is protected under the "fair use" doctrine, similar to the use of videotape recorders.

College students with broadband access to the Internet from their dorm rooms have caused headaches for network administrators, prompting some to ban the program.

Gartner polled administrators from 50 public and private colleges and universities and found the Napster issue raising serious moral and legal questions, Gartner said in a statement.

"Schools must consider the implementation of ethical standards and policy guidelines, even written agreements, that explicitly state that copyright infringement is illegal and will not be tolerated," said P.J. McNealy, senior analyst for Gartner's e-Business Services.

However, colleges must also weigh First Amendment and privacy issues for students, said Reid Christenberry, associate provost for information services at Georgia State University in Atlanta. Georgia State restricts the use of the program -- and other bandwidth-hogging file sharing software -- because of potential network slowdowns.

"We do not ban the particular use of a software product by name or by content," he said. "Because we're a state school, it raises issues of state action and free speech. We feel we'll always be safe when we're talking about routine business function of the network."

Industry groups object to Napster ruling
August 29, 2000
Napster stirs apprehension in movie industry
August 28, 2000
Adult entertainment industry looks to file-sharing
August 23, 2000
Napster continues fight against music labels
August 22, 2000
So-called Napster fans crack Web sites to get message out
August 21, 2000

October trial date set for Napster
(The Industry Standard)
Tech giants weigh in on Napster controversy
(InfoWorld.com)
Industry groups knock Napster ruling
(The Industry Standard)
Napster stirs apprehension in movie industry
(IDG.net)
Survey: Is Napster really theft?
(PCWorld.com)
Peer-to-peer networks avoid Napster problems
(InfoWorld.com)
Indiana University bans Napster after Metallica suit
(The Industry Standard)

Gartner Group
Napster

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.