NAPSTER, INC., Defendant(s).No. C 99-05183 MHP UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6243; 54 U.S.P.Q.2D (BNA) 1746; Copy. L. Rep. (CCH) P28,072 May 5, 2000, Decided May 5, 2000, Filed On December 6, 1999, plaintiff record companies filed suit alleging contributory and vicarious federal copyright infringement and related state law violations by defendant Napster, Inc. ("Napster"). Now [*2] before this court is defendant's motion for summary adjudication of the applicability of a safe harbor provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA"), 17 U.S.C. section 512(a), to its business activities. Defendant argues that the entire Napster system falls within the safe harbor and, hence, that plaintiffs may not obtain monetary damages or injunctive relief; except as narrowly specified by subparagraph 512(j)(1)(B). In the alternative, Napster asks the court to find subsection 512(a) applicable to its role in downloading MP3 music files, n1 as opposed to searching for or indexing such files. Having considered the parties' arguments and for the reasons set forth below, the court enters the following memorandum and order. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Footnotes- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - n1 The Motion Picture Experts Group first created MP3 in the early 1980s as the audio layer 3 of the MPEG-1 audiovisual format. MP3 technology allows for the fast and efficient conversion of compact disc recordings into computer files that may be downloaded over the Internet. See generally Recording Industry Ass'n of America v. Diamond Multimedia Systems Inc., 180 F.3d 1072, 1073-74 (9th Cir. 1999) (discussing MP3 technology). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -End Footnotes- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [*3] BACKGROUND Napster--a small internet start-up based in San Mateo, California--makes its proprietary MusicShare software freely available for Internet users to downloa...
