Napster's Next to Last Stand

Keeping good on its promise to fight the injunction the Ninth Circuit Court upheld against them on February 12th, Napster has filed a petition for rehearing of the decision that could shut the file-sharing software company down. If the court decides to rehear the case, eleven judges, including Chief Justice Mary Schroeder, who was part of the February 12th decision, would hear new arguments and decide whether additional written briefs would be necessary to make a ruling.

Napster's appeal rests largely on the shoulders of First Amendment rights as well as copyright laws. The company charges that the injunction is overly broad and limits authorized use of copyrighted material therefore violating "the First Amendment's requirement that restrictions on speech be narrowly tailored." Napster is also arguing that the court injunction conflicts with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and failed to address "safe harbor provisions and limitations on injunctions" set by it.

A denial by the Ninth Circuit Court in San Francisco for a rehearing would leave the Supreme Court as Napster's last stop in the appeals process. According to Napster.com the company has not yet decided whether they would take that legal route.

On March 2nd Judge Marilyn Patel, the District Court justice who ordered the initial injunction against Napster last August, will hold a hearing to retool her injunction, as ordered by the Ninth Circuit Court on February 12th.

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Great Gatsby' Is a Crushing Disappointment
• 
  TV Why You Should Watch 'Happy Endings'
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“Let My Love Open the Door”

Pete Townshend | 1980

A peppy, hopeful love song, "Let My Love Open the Door" became a U. S. Top Ten hit for Pete Townshend in 1980, anchored by the kind of repeating synthesizer figures that he'd used in some of the Who's recordings in the previous decade. Although Townshend brushed the song off as "just a ditty" in Rolling Stone shortly after its release, in 1996 he revealed it was about love of the holiest sort. "It's supposed to be about the power of God's love," he remarked. "That when you're in difficulty, whether it's major or minor, God's love is always there for you."

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter