JURY TRIAL COULD HELP NAPSTER

Napster would have a good chance of survival if the RIAA's lawsuit against the file swapper were to be brought before a jury, according to a survey of the potential jury pool released Tuesday.

About 41.5% of 1,000 men and women over 18 years of age believe that taking copyrighted music off the Internet should be free if it's for personal use, according to a National Law Journal survey commissioned by DecisionQuest, Newsbytes reports.

Even though it isn't a majority, it is a big enough chunk to make prosecutors nervous, the site said.

"This data should be music to Napster's ears," said DecisionQuest VP David Davis in a statement. "It is very difficult to win a case by attempting to change jurors' preexisting attitudes. Add to this that judge's instructions are often ignored, and we have a scenario where the barrier to persuading a unanimous jury to find against an alleged Internet 'pirate' may be a note that is too high to reach."

The study found that while nearly 42% of those asked think taking copyrighted music off the Internet should be free if it's for personal use, only 19% believe it should be free for commercial use as well.

"If I were a lawyer representing a company whose copyright had been infringed, I'd be very worried after reading these results," said Patrick Oster, editor-in-chief of The National Law Journal. "I would have to rethink my chances of getting sizable damages, and seriously consider settlement."