The Senate's music man, Orrin Hatch, has come out in defense of Napster. Two weeks ago, the Department of Justice and the Copyright Office filed a brief in a federal appeals court in California, siding with the Recording Industry Association of America in its fight to shut down music-swapping software maker Napster, Inc. On Sept. 14, the Utah Senator and Senate Judiciary Committee Chair fired off a letter to the appeals court informing them that the opinions of the Justice Dept. brief weren't indicative of the entire government.

"I thought it important that the court be under no misapprehension that the brief necessarily expresses the view of Congress in this matter," Hatch wrote. Hatch's concerns stemmed from the Justice Department's statement that "the United States assumes that the plaintiffs have made out an otherwise valid claim for contributory and/or vicarious copyright infringement against Napster based on the use of Napster's service and software by consumers to exchange computer files containing copyrighted musical works."

The letter isn't Hatch's first public comment on the issue. On July 11, he headed a Capitol Hill discussion that featured appearances from Metallica's Lars Ulrich, Chuck D, former Byrds leader Roger McGuinn, Napster CEO Hank Barry and Napster founder Shawn Fanning. "We must protect the rights of the creator, but we cannot in the name of copyright unduly burden consumers and the promising technology the Internet presents for all of us," Hatch said at the time.

Hatch is no stranger to the issue of music on the Internet. In addition to the Senate hearing in July, he offers a number of downloadable tracks from his own albums on his Web site, www.hatchmusic.com.

ANDREW DANSBY
(September 20, 2000)