RIAA HITS NAPSTER AGAIN

With no regard to the online file swapper’s "heartfelt plea" for permission to re-launch its service (hitsdailydouble.com, 7/11), the RIAA filed a motion Friday (7/13) that seeks to deny Napster's request of a stay.

The latest twists and turns in the Napster saga come after Judge Marilyn Hall Patel’s July 11 order declaring the company, which discontinued its file-sharing service July 3, could not restart the swapping until its software reached 100% effectiveness in blocking the transfer of unauthorized material. Her decision came after Napster presented evidence that its technology was 99.4% effective.

Following that crippling decision, Napster lawyers filed an emergency request with the federal appeals court to set aside Patel’s order, saying it will lose market leverage if its system remains shut down.

In response to Napster’s latest appellate filing, the RIAA hit the courts again, motioning Friday that "no emergency" exists because Napster has known since Patel's modified preliminary injunction on March 5 that it has to restrict access to copyrighted material on its service. "Napster's dire warning about an indefinite, standardless, catastrophic shutdown is specious," the RIAA brief said.