Below are citations and links to some of the current leading cases and litigation involving concerns to copyright owners in the digital environment.

RIAA v. Diamond Rio
Recording Industry Ass'n of America v. Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc., 180 F.3d 1072 (9th Cir. 1999).   Recent Ninth Circuit case upholding lower court's refusal to enjoin distribution of the portable Diamond Rio MP3 player and also holding that such players are not subject to the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992 (AHRA) 17 U.S.C. §§1001 -1010.  Some commentators consider this case to be reminiscent of the "Betamax Case," Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 464 U.S. 417 (1984)(holding that time shifting is a legitimate use of VCRs).

RIAA v. Napster.com
RIAA  recently filed suit against Napster, Inc.  Napster operates Napster.com which allows users to make their MP3 collections available to other Napster users who are logged on at the same time.  RIAA, believing the overwhelming majority of MP3 files offered on Napster are infringing, accuses Napster of contributory and vicarious copyright infringement and associated state law violations.  RIAA, Napster.com, and the Berkman Center offer various articles and perspectives dealing with the case.  Due to the flailing suits surrounding Napster, including Metallica suing universities "not stopping the use of Napster," we provide no direct link to Napster.com.  In the interest of intelligent discourse, we do ask that you not simply read the RIAA website version of the facts.

RIAA v. MP3.com
RIAA brought suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against MP3.com in January, 2000.  RIAA alleges that MP3.com's "Instant Listening Service" and "Beam-It Service" infringe on the copyrights of many RIAA members.   Offered in connection with MP3.com's new My.MP3.com, the two services enable MP3.com users to compile databases of music on MP3.com servers which users can then access by streaming the songs to MP3 players on their computers.  RIAA alleges that MP3.com has made unauthorized copies of over 45,000 CDs and loaded those copies onto file servers which MP3.com users then listen to and download.  A copy of the RIAA complaint is available at MP3.com.  Details on the services and issues involved can be obtained from RIAA, MP3.com, and the Berkman Center.  As with Napster, we can provide no direct link while the ubiquitous heavy hands of RIAA and other litigious forces loom.

RealNetworks, Inc. v. Streambox, Inc.
Creators of the RealAudio music format filed December 1999 suit against Streambox in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.  RealNetworks allege unfair competition and violation of the anticircumvention measures of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), 17. U.S.C.  §1201 et seq., by Streambox for the distributing and marketing of its Streambox VCR and Ripper.  On January 18, 2000 United States District Judge Marsha Pechman issued a temporary restraining order enjoining Streambox from manufacturing, importing, licensing, or offering versions of its VCR and Ferret.  However, Judge Pechman denied RealNetwork's motion for a preliminary injunction with respect to the Streambox Ripper.  Explanations of the technology involved, and the complaints and response can be found at Streambox.com and the Berkman Center.

I Crave TV Suit
A Canadian Internet site, iCrave TV.com,  had been picking up broadcasts from 17 television stations in Buffalo, New York and Toronto, Canada which it then converted into digital Web broadcasts.  Prior to this year's Super Bowl, the National Football League (NFL), National Basketball Association (NBA), and NBA Properties, Inc. sued iCraveTV and its parent company TVRadioNow Corporation,  in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.  The judge granted a temporary restraining order blocking iCrave from transmitting copyrighted programming into the U.S. via iCrave TV.com.  Soon after that suit, iCrave reached a settlement with both U.S. and Canadian broadcasters, including representatives from Warner Bros., Disney and MGM, to stop broadcasting copyrighted U.S. and Canadian shows via the Internet.  iCrave contends it will now try to negotiate licensing rights for the streaming of various forms of video on its site.  More info on the suits and settlements can be found at iCrave.com.  iCrave claims that had the case gone to trial, the MPAA , television networks or the professional sports leagues could not prove that U.S. viewers were watching the programs because the only evidence was that 57% of viewers were logged onto AOL servers located in Virginia and that does not indicate where the viewers were located.   iCrave is thus trying to develop technology which will allow it to determine which AOL customers are in the U.S. and which are in Canada in order to block access to U.S. based viewers.  iCrave claims it is close to developing an "i-wall" with 100 percent accuracy and hopes to be rebroadcasting by this summer.