Ian Clarke, founder of Freenet, a decentralized file-swapping system

I think it is sad that issues of free speech are being ignored in this case; to me it is a free speech issue. All Napster is doing is telling people where they can download MP3s; they are not actually helping in the information transfer itself.

Still, this does demonstrate why it is important for information sharing systems to be decentralized like Freenet to prevent this kind of attack.

Howard A. King, attorney for Metallica, which successfully sued Napster, thereby forcing Napster to block from its service anyone swapping the band's heavy metal tunes

What this does is clarify what we always thought the law was, so any investment banker or other financial type is not going to invest in a site or technology that does something similar to Napster. I realize that doesn't encompass what Gnutella is doing, but it certainly gives owners of copyright the ability to bring actions for damages against users and developers -- actions that will stop them in their tracks.

But really, I tried using Gnutella and I couldn't make it work, so I'm not as worried about it as I was about Napster. I spoke to about 20 people who agreed. Of course, anybody who wants to steal music will do it; the diligent pirate will always succeed, but that doesn't mean we should allow it to become mainstream.

Ultimately, I think people will do what's right. It's hard in the face of free brownies to do the right thing, but if you have to find the recipe and cook them, you might just do what's right, which is pay for them.

For now though, at least we've locked a ruling in place. I'm hoping this really does encourage record companies [and] technologists -- or 19-year-old geniuses -- to develop technologies that will allow the digital distribution of music in a way that compensates the owners. That's the real goal.

Chuck D, founder of Rapstation.com and frontman for legendary rap group Public Enemy (from the Rapstation site)

"If Patel was the key judge at the last turn of the century, we'd still be relying on horses and buggies and trains to get around. Stopping the process of file sharing is like trying to control the rain."

Erwin Drake, former president of the Songwriters Guild of America

I am a career songwriter since 1942. The songs that I have either created alone or in collaboration with others are: "It Was a Very Good Year," "I Believe (For Every Drop Of Rain That Falls)," "Good Morning Heartache," "Perdido," "Tico Tico," "Al Di La," "A Room Without Windows," and others. The fact that these songs still survive is my only provider of income. I was president of the Songwriters Guild of America in 1976 when we won a new copyright law in Washington that extended the term of copyright protection and raised the royalty rates on recordings of our songs.

What Napster is doing is in defiance of that law which carries a fine and, in some cases, a jail sentence. Napster is supplying burglar tools to a public that is not aware of the circumstances. That same public, if it can not afford a car or a home, knows it can not have them. They can not download that car or home. That would be theft if it were technically feasible. Intellectual property is entitled by law to the same measure of protection.

The Free Software Project
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