Just recently, the court ordered Napster to block a list of over 135,000 songs under copyright. Convinced that other companies were working on the same plan, Shawn stayed up for days on end creating software that would eliminate the middle file server and connect users to each other directly. This new software was revolutionary and could bypass any legal issues that confronted it. Little did they know that Shawn's creation, Napster, was soon to become the hit that it did. In only three months, the software was complete, in all of its simplicity.
Users can download the program for free and can easily find any song using the search option.
It was an instant hit, especially when combined with the increased popularity of a device called the CD burner, which could copy the downloaded songs to a compact disc. It was an instant hit with everyone except the original artists of the downloaded songs. The very loud spokesperson for angry music artists, Lars Ulrich, first brought the issue to the public, stating that Shawn Fanning and his brilliant creation were cheating him and other artists out of well deserved royalties. Legal action was taken and in June of 2000, a federal judge ordered an injunction that required Napster to temporarily shut down while the lawsuit filed against them. Napster contested, and just a mere six hours before they were to close down, they were given a stay and allowed to continue running.