Pattern publishers say many needlepoint fans, Napster-like, are cheating them. Fans and industry watchers had prepared for the worst Friday, expecting Patel to rule on whether Napster could continue operating in its current form. How many songs will be included in the initial blocking remains unclear, and the company declined to specify. But Boies said the company has identified at least 1 million unauthorized audio files in its service. Napster Chief Executive Hank Barry said the filter takes the names of artists and copyrighted songs, and screens out files that match.
Some people find religion.
A year ago, even two weeks ago, Napster said they couldn't do this. Now, they've suddenly seen the light. So have millions of Napster users, who have been madly downloading audio files off the service on the assumption that the company's days are numbered. Napster tried to keep Patel from issuing the expected injunction by appealing to a full panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The need for filtering technologies, which treat pirates as criminals, will be diminished when he rolls in technology that treats pirates as competitors.