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THIS PUT A BIG SMILE ON MY FACE!!
Metallica Drops Several Colleges From Napster Lawsuit
------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- (4/24/00, 6 p.m. ET) - Metallica has announced that its dropped several universities from its lawsuit against Napster and others who distribute copyrighted material over the Internet. Yale University, Indiana University, and the University of Southern California have all either completely blocked access to the music delivery system, or are only allowing access for "demonstrably legal purposes." Metallica says it will still go after others who continue to permit the pirating of copyrighted songs and recordings. Indiana University spokesperson Chris Simpson told LAUNCH that the college put a filter on their network prohibiting access to Napster, after learning of Metallica's lawsuit. "I think we understood what Napster was doing prior to the suit," he said. "What was unclear to us at the time was the myriad legal questions that have been unresolved and unanswered. And it became clear to us that until these legal issues are clarified the most prudent move was to block access henceforth to Napster." In a statement, Metallica reached out to universities. "We are optimistic that all responsible universities upon recognizing the devastating effect Napster has had on intellectual property rights will join with Yale University, Indiana University, and USC in immediately banning access to Napster for illegal purposes." -- Darren Davis, New York |