Napster to Sue for Copyright Violation?

UPDATE - In what seems like a self-destructive effort, Napster may indeed sue its long-time friend in the band named Offspring. Last week the rock group began selling Napster merchandise from their Web site without the company's permission. Napster itself is in court at the moment for copyright infringement of bands such as Offspring, and allowing the illegal distribution of their trademark, that being their music.

The Register has the scoop on what may be happening in the case, as Napster would not comment on the possibility of litigation. In the wake of all the claims against Napster, it may be best if they leave copyright lawsuits against their own company out of the courtroom until the trial in which it is currently defending itself blows over.

The file swapping program has put the company in the hotseat since colleges across the nation in the United States began banning its usage due to high bandwidth consumption. Indiana University was one of the first to ban the software, as well as the first to re-instate its usage after working closely with Napster engineers to devise a better search protocol for intranets such as a college campus.

Then the artists began their own fight against Napster, more specifically the rock band Metallica, when they sued Napster, several Universities, and a group of Napster users. Napster was then forced by Metallica's lawyer to ban 310,000 users from the service. The universities named in the suit quickly re-instated the ban on the program to protect themselves and Metallica had won a small battle, but the war is not yet over.

Dr. Dre followed the lead, and quickly pressed Napster to ban those that were allegedly pirating his music via the program. Last week the company proceeded to ban 230,000 alleged Dr. Dre pirates from the service just as they announced that 30,000 of the accused Metallica pirates would be allowed to use Napster again.

This latest idea that Napster itself would be suing for copyright infringement boggles the mind, as they find themselves in the same situation. Why the company would sue a band who has long supported the program, where many of its brethren in the music industry have not, is beyond the rationality of many. Sure copyrights are copyrights, but dragging it into court will only harm the company.

It is the feeling of many that a deal should be worked out where both The Offspring and Napster benefit from these efforts by the band to promote the service, at a time when Napster needs the most support from artists such as The Offspring. The company has already lost the first round of litigation against itself, and the future does not look bright.

Lucky for netizens and music lovers around the globe, programs such as Gnutella and Metallicster have been developed to prevent future events such as this from happening.

UPDATE:
Napster has released a joint press statement with The Offspring saying that all proceeds from the sale of the items will be donated to charity. The charity in question was agreed upon by Dexter Holland and Shawn Fanning earlier today.