Alongside the development of a file format (MP3) for storing digital audio recordings came one of the most ongoing debates of the new millennium – peer-to-peer piracy – file sharing. Internet companies such as Napster and Grokster have been involved in notable legal cases regarding copyright laws in cyberspace. These two cases are similar in nature, but decidedly different. In order to understand the differences and similarities, one must understand each case and the court's decision. According to the text A Gift of Fire, Napster "launched on the Web in 1999 as a service that allowed its users to copy songs into MP3 files from other users' hard drives" (Baase, 2013, p. 192, section 4.1.6 Music sharing: the Napster affair). Napster, however, "copied and distributed most of the songs they traded without permission" (A Gift of Fire, Section 4.1.6 Sharing Music: The Napster Affair). This unauthorized file sharing led to a lawsuit: "eighteen record companies were sued for contribution infringement, claiming that Napster users were blatantly violating copyrights by digitally reproducing and distributing music unlicensed music” (Communications Act: Freedoms, Restrictions and Modern Media, 2011, p. 359). In 2001, the case of A & M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc. was first heard in the United States District Court of Northern California, where Napster claimed that the record companies were in fact violating their First Amendment. rights. The court disagreed with this argument, ruled, and ruled in favor of the record companies, saying that they did indeed have a valid argument. Napster appealed the lower court's decision and the case subsequently went to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Cir. ...... middle of paper ...... the entertainment industry says intellectual property is just as real as physical property. The digital age faces a true balancing act, a digital dilemma if you will: the right to freedom of expression while protecting intellectual property. References: Zelezny, J. (2011). Communications law: freedoms, restrictions and modern media. Boston, MA: Wadsworth-Cengage Learning. Baase, S. (2013) A gift of fire. 4th edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. Washington University at St. Louis Law School. (August 28, 2013). "University of Washington Law Blog." Case Study: A&M Records v. Napster, Inc. Retrieved from http://onlinelaw.wustl.edu/case-study-am-records-inc-v-napster-inc/The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago- Kent College of Law. (May 3, 2014). MGM Studios vs. Grokster. Retrieved from http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2004/2004_04_480