|
Napster wins reprieve
|
 |
July 28, 2000: 6:13 p.m. ET
Appeals courts grants stay of injunction, service will not shut at midnight
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - A federal appeals court in San Francisco granted Internet song swap company Napster Inc. a reprieve on Friday, issuing a stay against a preliminary injunction that would have shut the popular but embattled service by 3 a.m. ET Saturday.
The stay, issued by the 9th District U.S. Court of Appeals, puts the brakes on an injunction granted on Wednesday by Judge Marilyn Patel, ordering it to stop distributing copyrighted songs.
Napster is a San Mateo, Calif.-based Internet site that allows PC users to upload and download recorded music, largely without the permission of the recording artists or their labels.
The Recording Industry Association of America, which represents the major recording companies, sued Napster in December, charging that the 10-month-old service fosters an environment for copyright infringement, and asking that the courts shut Napster down.
Time Warner, the parent company of CNN and CNNfn, is part of the Recording Industry Association of America.
Napster's claims 20 million users and hundreds of millions of downloads this year. The music industry claims Napster's sharing threatens the financial integrity of the music business.
Napster now has until August 18 to submit its opening brief in the case. The RIAA has until Sept. 8 to respond. After another opportunity for the online service to respond, arguments in the case will begin at a date yet to be determined. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Napster
|
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNNmoney
|
|
|
|
 |
|
