Abstract This paper examines how the recent development of computers, the Internet, and music compression technologies, such as MP3, have given a totally new dimension to music privacy and how free music downloads and the exchange of music files over the Internet has reached such daunting proportions that the music industry considers it the single biggest threat to its very survival. It discusses whether downloading of music from the Internet should be unrestricted and free by looking at both sides of the issue. While doing so, recent court cases about music piracy in the United States and Australia are also examined.
Outline
The Beginnings of Music Downloads on the Internet
The Napster Lawsuit and Its Aftermath
Current Scale of Internet Music Downloads
Ethics of Free Music Downloads
Arguments For and Against
Recent US and Australian Court Cases
Conclusion
From the Paper "Napster attracted the ire of the music recording industry, which filed lawsuits (A&M Records Inc. et al versus Napster) against the company in the US courts in 2001. A Californian district court ruled against Napster, ordering it to close its file-transferring service. Ultimately, the ninth circuit appeal's court upheld the decision of the district court against Napster in 2001. On appeal, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the decision in a landmark ruling in 2002 that forced Napster to close down its file-transferring Website and file for bankruptcy. (?Napster Lawsuit,? 2002 Findlaw) The court ruling, however, was far from a death-blow to the free downloading business on the Internet as there were a number of grey areas in the court's ruling that did not lift the cloud of confusion about the application of copyright laws on the Internet."
