IP: PENN REFUSES TO BAN USE OF NAPSTER ON ITS NETWORKS: Edupage, September 29 2000 [right on djf[

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

> The University of Pennsylvania will not ban access to the
> music-sharing Web site Napster, the school's administration
> announced yesterday.  Penn is now one of 15 universities to
> reject a demand from the attorney for musicians and outspoken
> Napster opponents Dr. Dre and Metallica that the schools ban the
> popular but embattled service.  In a letter, Penn President
> Judith Rosen said that concerns about the restriction of free
> inquiry and expression outweighed concerns about the artists'
> intellectual property.  She also said the school would educate
> its students on the proper use of intellectual property.  The
> artists' attorney, Howard E. King, said he would seek further
> dialogue with the university regarding the decision but denied
> that his clients might sue the schools.  However, King said that
> although most schools view themselves as only intermediaries in
> this dispute because students use their computer networks to
> access Napster, even intermediaries must be held accountable for
> what they facilitate. (Philadelphia Inquirer, 28 September 2000)