SAN ESTEVAN, California (CNM) -- Five major record companies filed suit Tuesday against Snapster Inc., the 19-employee start-up whose free software lets users share music files stored on their computers.
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| The Snapster program running in a college dorm room |
Snapster, written by a 19-year-old college dropout during his winter break, has spread rapidly on campuses, where students with fast dormitory connections can download a song in minutes. Some universities say the program is clogging their networks.
"This is theft, plain and simple," said the head of a recording industry trade group. Snapster's lawyer countered that the company "does not store a single song. We just introduce people to each other. Musically."
Students interviewed on one campus seemed unconcerned. "I have 3,000 songs," said one sophomore. "I have listened to maybe 40 of them. Downloading them is the fun part."
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