| Threat of damages could cripple service
By CNET News.com Staff
February 12, 2001, 6:10 p.m. PT
The popular music file-swapping service gains a temporary reprieve, as a court allows Napster to operate pending a case against it. Yet the action does open the service to millions of dollars in damages that could dramatically change how it does business.
Napster can play on, but trouble looms
video | update
A court ruling allows Napster fans to continue swapping music but opens the door to millions of dollars in damages that could cripple the service.
February 12, 2001, 1:15 p.m. PT
What the decision means for fans
FAQ
CNET News.com takes a look at some of the most important questions for Napster fans and foes after the appeals court gives the music-swapping service a temporary reprieve.
February 12, 2001, 4:05 p.m. PT
Napster's subscription Holy Grail fading
Regardless of whether the music file-swapping service survives its copyright battles in court, one thing is certain: People won't be treated to a free ride much longer.
February 12, 2001, 6:10 p.m. PT
Makers of MP3 players distance themselves
Manufacturers are extolling their machines' ability to perform functions far from Napster's prickly copyright controversy.
February 12, 2001, 4:45 p.m. PT
Stanford University curbs Napster use
update
Citing bandwidth issues, Stanford University is the latest college to limit access to the music file-swapping service.
February 12, 2001, 2:05 p.m. PT
Fans rally before closure threat
Napster aficionados and entrepreneurs rush to defend the music file-swapping service as a viable business venture.
February 12, 2001, 12:50 p.m. PT
Court sounds off on Napster's case
document
Read the document issued by the court in response to Napster's appeal of an injunction that threatened to shut it down.
February 12, 2001, 12:00 p.m. PT
News.com on air
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Bertelsmann: Making music with Napster
newsmaker
CNET News.com talks to Bertelsmann's Andreas Schmidt about whether the company will succeed in courting record labels to work with Napster.
February 7, 2001, 4:00 a.m. PT
Napster gains another powerful ally
update
Joel Klein, the former antitrust chief for the Justice Department, is named chairman and chief executive of the U.S. division of Bertelsmann.
January 31, 2001, 1:20 p.m. PT
Napster updates software as court case looms
The music file-swapping service releases an updated version of its software making it easier to find specific songs and bands.
December 26, 2000, 11:00 a.m. PT
|  | | Holding court | | Jan.
1999 | Shawn Fanning, 19, creates Napster, allowing Web
surfers to
open their hard drives to other people and swap MP3
files.
| | May | Napster Inc. is founded. | | Dec. 7 | The record industry charges Napster with violating
federal and
state laws through copyright infringement. | | Jan.
2000 | Universities clamp down on Napster, citing
beleaguered
bandwidth.
A Stanford University senior posts a page describing how Napster's
software
works. | | April | Metallica and Dr. Dre sue Napster and some
universities, charging that they are responsible for copyright
violations. | | May 8 | U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel orders
Napster
to stand trial
for copyright infringement.
| | May 21 | Napster receives $15 million in venture capital from
Hummer Winblad. | | June 13 | The Recording Industry Association of America seeks
a preliminary
injunction
against Napster, raising the possibility that the service will
stop. | | June 16 | David Boies, the Justice Department's special
counsel
in the
Microsoft antitrust case, joins Napster's legal team. | | July 26 | Patel orders Napster to halt the trading of
copyrighted
material. | | July 28 | The appellate court allows Napster to remain in
operation while
it prepares to hear an expedited appeal. | | Aug. 18 | Napster's legal team asks the appellate court to
overturn the
lower court's order. | | Oct. 2 | A panel of appellate judges harshly grills lawyers
for
both sides
before adjourning without a decision. | | Oct. 31 | Bertelsmann forms an alliance with Napster to
develop a
subscription service.
| | Jan.
2001 | Joel Klein, the former antitrust chief for the
Justice
Department, is named chairman and chief executive of the U.S. division
of
German media giant Bertelsmann.
|
|
Trouble ahead for Napster?
