Press Release

Songwriters and Music Publishers Applaud Ruling in Napster Case.

NEW YORK, NY - Representatives of the National Music Publishers' Association, Inc. (NMPA) and the Songwriters' Guild of America, Inc. (SGA) expressed elation today over the decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of copyright owners and against the unlicensed, online music distributor and file sharing network Napster. "We enthusiastically applaud the opinion issued by the Appellate Court in San Francisco," stated Edward P. Murphy, President and CEO of NMPA, "and are confident that the precedent of strong Internet copyright protection has now been firmly and permanently established by Congress and recognized by the federal judiciary in both California and New York."

The Appellate Court unanimously ruled that the plaintiff copyright owners prevailed on every legal point put forth in their copyright infringement case, stating that a preliminary injunction commanding Napster to eliminate all infringing works passing through its system "is not only warranted but required." The Court remanded the case back to the trial judge to reshape the injunction in order to make it consistent with the key finding that Napster, by its conduct, "knowingly encourages and assists in the infringement of the plaintiffs copyrights."

According to George David Weiss, President of the Songwriters' Guild of America and composer of such American favorites as "Can't Help Falling in Love With You" (Elvis Presley, UB40), "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" (The Tokens), and "What A Wonderful World" (Louis Armstrong): "I am thrilled by the Court's enlightened recognition that the public benefits greatly from the protection of intellectual property, and that creators must be protected in order to keep the amazing river of American music flowing. Songs don't just spring from the air, they are created by flesh and blood writers who spend years perfecting their art and craft, and who have families to support and bills to pay. It is gratifying that the court has ruled so clearly that creators are constitutionally deserving of the protections that the law extends to them, laws which permit them to devote their lives and careers to creating works that capture the public's imagination."

Gary Churgin, President and CEO of NMPA's music licensing subsidiary, The Harry Fox Agency, Inc. adds that today's ruling is a major step toward fulfillment of the Internet's promises of economic opportunity for creators and increased access to music for the public. "Internet music distributors such as Musicbank, MP3.com, Emusic, and others have already found out how economical and efficient it is to license music, rather than simply taking it and facing legal consequences of violating the copyright laws. Hopefully, this decision will serve as crucial step forward in the process of rapidly licensing every music distributor on the Internet under terms that benefit everyone, including the public. The Harry Fox Agency is eager to continue its leadership role in that process."

Concludes Murphy, "In bringing rules of fairness to the Internet that guarantee that the creators and nurturers of music have ways to be compensated, we both enhance the public's ability to get easy access to the music it enjoys, and preserve the economic viability of musical creativity as a career. Our success as a nation in making the Internet a safe place for the arts to flourish preserves one of America's greatest sources of wealth and international good will: the creative output of its people."

NMPA financially supported the litigation filed last year on behalf of songwriters and music publishers against Napster.

The National Music Publishers' Association, Inc., founded in 1917, works to protect and advance the interests of the music publishing industry. With over 800 members, NMPA represents the most important and influential music publishing firms throughout the United States. Established in 1927, The Harry Fox Agency, Inc., the licensing subsidiary of NMPA, provides an information source, clearing house and monitoring service for a large percentage of music manufactured, distributed, and transmitted electronically in the United States and around the world. HFA represents more than 27,000 music publisher principals, which in turn represent the interests of more than 150,000 songwriters.

The Songwriters' Guild of America is the nation's oldest and largest organization run exclusively by and for songwriters. SGA is an unincorporated, voluntary association representing approximately 5,000 songwriters throughout the United States and the estates of deceased SGA members. SGA is governed by a board composed entirely of songwriters. Among other functions, SGA provides music licensing, royalty collection and audit services for its writer members.