A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc.
| A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc. | |
|---|---|
| Court | United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit |
| Full case name | A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc. |
| Argued | October 2 2000 |
| Decided | February 12 2001 |
| Citation | 239 F.3d 1004 |
| Holding | |
| Napster could be held liable for contributory and vicarious copyright infringement, affirming the District Court holding. | |
| Court membership | |
| Judges sitting | Mary M. Schroeder, Richard Paez, Robert Beezer |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Robert Beezer |
| Laws applied | |
| 17 U.S.C. § 501, 17 U.S.C. §106 | |
A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc., 239 F.3d 1004 (9th. Cir., 2001) was a landmark intellectual property case in which the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court ruling that the defendant, peer-to-peer file sharing service Napster, could be held liable for contributory infringement and vicarious infringement of copyright. This was the first major case to address the application of copyright laws to peer-to-peer file sharing.
While A&M Records served as the lead plaintiff, Napster was sued by 18 different record companies, all of which were members of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Additionally, songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller were included on the Circuit Court appeal, representing the interests of "all others similarly situated."