Legal Panel Debates Restrictions on Napster

The University has no current plans to restrict students' access to Napster, panelists at a discussion on the Internet music-sharing service said yesterday.

In October, Harvard Arts and Sciences Computer Services (HASCS) limited outbound network traffic for Napster but did not restrict Napster downloads.

"We haven't received complaints, and we've sped up the network [since the limitation]," said Franklin M. Steen, director of FAS computer services.

In late September, Harvard declined a request from Dr. Dre and Metallica to block access to Napster.

Daniel D. Moriarty, assistant provost, said the letter had argued that Harvard would be morally and ethically correct to ban Napster access.

The letter "had the clear threat of an impending lawsuit. It was a request for the university to take presumptive action," Moriarty said.

No lawsuit has been filed.

"When asked to do something by a court, of course we'll do it," Moriarty said.

Steen said yesterday that the October decision was not related to the letter but to increased traffic on the network.

"The recording industry is on a roll winning lawsuits and inducing the main players to kneel down. Fewer people will be willing to take the risks Harvard has taken," he said.

However, it is not clear what the recording industry could demand of Harvard, Fisher said.

Until then, Harvard will simply urge students to remember that they are responsible for infringement of copyright laws, panelists said.

The Recording Industry Association of America has identified several Napster users from Harvard who engage in excessive file-sharing and urged Harvard to take action. HASCS has given the pertinent information to Senior Tutors, and those students are encouraged to disband their Napster files to avoid legal conflict.

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society, the Institute of Politics and the Harvard Political Union sponsored yesterday's discussion.

"I thought the panel presented a really nice cross-section of opinions on the issue," said Cedar G. Pruitt, a student at the Graduate School of Education.

Patricia Y. Torres, a third-year student at the law school, said she found the discussion "quite informative."

"It's interesting to see how people navigate through the issues. While it's hard to stifle the use of technology, you don't want to encourage illegality," she said.