Is file sharing illegal? Abstract: File sharing violates existing copyright laws by facilitating the widespread and illegal distribution of copyrighted material. This article examines the case against file sharing, examining how players take responsibility for the illegal acts currently made possible by this new technology. Finally, it suggests some remedies so that file sharing companies can reform and become a potentially powerful and revolutionary company while still acting within the law. The ancient tradition told the story of sirens, beautiful nymphs who sang to passing sailors, distracting them from their tasks and causing the errant ship to crash into the rocks below. Moving forward to the present, we see a nascent technology that allows its users to break the law, perhaps even unknowingly. Almost everyone who uses the Internet today has heard of Napster, the program invented by prodigy Shawn Fanning that allows millions of Internet users to share music with each other. This technology has recently come under heavy criticism, especially from the recording industry, which claims that Napster knowingly permits and even encourages violations of copyright law, depriving both the artist and the industry of the fruits of their labor. Supporters counter that the technology supports budding artists and revolutionizes the music industry. This case is currently being considered by the US court system, and the question before the government, and indeed the entire web community, is simple: Is Napster illegal? The answer to this question is neither simple nor definitive, and the debate on the topic will surely continue as technology and industry evolve over time...... middle of paper... are a business commercially viable (they have yet to release a business model) which further revolutionizes the entire recording industry. But these changes will require active commitment and involvement from Napster, towards which it has thus far shown extreme reluctance. Until Napster is willing to reform its wrong ways, the wind will push those poor sailors onto the rocks beneath the sirens.Endnotes1 http://newsletter.napster.com/archive/dec2000.php2 http:/ / www.zdnet.com/products/stories/pipreviews/0,8827,258242,00.html3 http://newsletter.napster.com/archive/dec2000.php4 http://www.riaa.org/Napster.cfm5 " Defendant Napster, Inc.'s Opposition to the Plantiffs' Motion for a Preliminary Injunction." Case no. 00-0074 MHP (ADR)6 Ibid.7 http://www.riaa.org/Napster.cfm