Investing Internet Technology Windows Internet Tech. Two leading Washington, D.C.-based electronic trade associations are sharply critical of Monday's Napster ruling in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. While the ruling allows Napster users to continue swapping files, the Court sent the case back to district court for creating a new injunction. More ominously for Napster, however, was the Court's warning that the company could be liable for millions of dollars in damages.
Technological innovation helps the U.S. economy and consumers.
Opponents should carry a heavy burden to show that a new technology is illegal. The ITAA also rejected the need for immediate government intervention in the matter. We certainly cannot accept the notion that intellectual property has no value. Free music, free videos, free books sound great. But if we end the basic notion that creators of new content have no right to be compensated, we end the incentives for creativity.