................................. To leave Commie, hyper to http://commie.oy.com/commie_leaving.html ................................. Hee hee. The bad guys have been shutting off the pig-latin filename encryptor, and other programs designed to slip past Napster's new filters. So check this out: "Napster users are working hard to defeat attempts at shutting off the free music valve. A Canadian company, claiming that it is not violating Canadian law, says it will soon offer software that will detect when Napster figures out the pattern, then communicate with company computers to begin using a new encryption pattern." ======================================================================= FindLaw's DOWNLOAD THIS! A Weekly Newsletter Covering Law and the Internet http://my.findlaw.com ======================================================================= March 16, 2001 Issue # 26 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- MORE NOTES ON NAPSTER -- with Timothy Walton, Esq. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Napster users have resorted to several methods of foiling the service's attempts to eradicate RIAA music from its database. Judge Marilyn Hall Patel's order requires Napster to prevent the sharing of files containing the 135,000 songs RIAA identified in an email to Napster. Removing "metallica.MP3" was easy. Then users started using pig latin to name files, such as "etallicamay.MP3." There is even software that makes it easier for users to trade songs using file name conventions that Napster hasn't caught onto yet. Still, Napster has gotten both MP3 Translator and Aimster to stop providing software that contributes to use of Napster for copyright infringement purposes. Meanwhile the recording industry accuses Napster of dragging its heels. "Stall tactics are unacceptable," rants Amy Weiss of the Recording Industry Association of America. Howard King, an attorney for Metallica, says, "They're not trying hard enough." Of course, the Ninth Circuit said that the plaintiffs bear some responsibility in policing for infringement. Napster has an argument that the district court order places more of the onus on Napster than the Ninth Circuit required. Napster says it is trying as hard as it can, and has asked Judge Patel to appoint a compliance monitor with enough technical expertise to recognize the company's efforts. Webnoize reports that Napster's filter has had a dramatic effect. And it is continuing the look for new ways to implement the injunction. Napster has hired Gracenote to help it comply with the district court order. Gracenote specializes in file name recognition technology. Engineers from the two companies are working together to integrate variations in the names of artists and songs into Napster's file-filtering system. Gracenote claims that its software can identify 9 million songs from 850,000 albums, seeking phonetic matches, recombinant strings, and text correlations, as well as specific matches. That is considerably more than the 115,000 files representing 26,000 songs that Napster says it is currently blocking. But they may be engaging in a high-stakes game of whack-a-mole. Napster users are working hard to defeat attempts at shutting off the free music valve. A Canadian company, claiming that it is not violating Canadian law, says it will soon offer software that will detect when Napster figures out the pattern, then communicate with company computers to begin using a new encryption pattern. And Napster still has to convince the genie to go back in the bottle long enough to allow for credit card processing. Apster-Nay: Ull-Pay Ecoder-Day Source: Wired News http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,42433,00.html Foes Say Napster Is Stalling Source: Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A872-2001Mar13.html Napster Asks Judge To Appoint Compliance Monitor Source: LA Times http://www.latimes.com/business/columns/techcol/todays.topstory.htm Napster Gets Helping Hand In Foiling Song-Name Variations Source: Newsbytes http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/163093.html Aimster Puts Pig Encoder To Pasture Source: Newsbytes http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/163157.html Read The Ninth Circuit Ruling And The District Court Order At FindLaw's Napster Page http://napster.findlaw.com
