The Napster case has created a frenzy of controversy and confusion. The Peer
to Peer technology developed by Napster creator Shawn Fanning, has forced the
courts, the legislature, corporations, and individuals to reconsider the use of the
Internet. Peer to peer networks create new challenges for the application of
copyright law. However, these challenges are not that different from those which
copyright law has evolved to accommodate in the past.
Copyright law is intended to balance the interests of the creators and the public
to promote the progress of science and useful arts. The premise behind
copyright protection is to ensure that people continue creating, and that the
public continues to enjoy those creations, through the mechanism of rewarding
the creators with a temporary monopoly over their works. This balance of
interests is fundamental to the interpretation of copyright law by the United States
Congress and the Courts.
This thesis focuses on the application and interpretation of copyright law through
a case study of the law in the United States, in particular the Napster case.
Although it now appears that the Internet can be subject to some form of
regulation with the aid of technological innovation to enforce the regulation, the
Courts in the Napster case have misinterpreted the previous judicial
consideration attributed to copyright law. In essence, the fundamental principle
of the balancing of interests has been lost. We are now left with an unequal
balance in favor of large media conglomerates.
It can be argued that the media conglomerates have used Napster as an
example of their power to control the technology of peer to peer networking as a
model of distribution. Napster demonstrates that peer to peer is an effective way
of sharing information with an extremely large amount of people. This has the
music industry scared, resulting in their legal battle to shut down the Napster
technology.
The claims of copyright misuse raise awareness of the need for regulation and a
reassessment of copyright application in a digital age. There is a need for
regulation. However, any attempts at further application of law and regulation to
the Internet concerning copyright protection should consider the intent of the
constitutional founders of the United States -- copyright law is intended to protect
the interests of both the artists, and the public.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/11629 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Belcredi, Carmen |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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