Napster now is not the same company sued by plaintiff Recording Industry Association of America last December. The fight is over whether downloading music by the Napster process infringes copyrights held by the Plaintiffs. Napster is betting the farm on Boies. We as design engineers are likely to be more conversant with patents and less with copyrights. That's because the nature of engineering engenders patents as the big prize.
Patents comprise well-defined specifications and claims to stake out the inventor's property.
Copyrights are a much different sort of property. In music, which is at the heart of Napster's business, copyrights are the sole form of IP protection for writers and composers. Most of us understand that patents are granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, where copyrights are granted by the Copyright Office, which is part of the Library of Congress. Its administration is directed by the Register of Copyrights, who register copyright claims and accept deposits of copies. Copyright law is codified under Title 17 of the United States Code.