Cyber Glossary
Cyberlaw dictionary is an alphabetical reference guide to technical and legal terms related to the Internet. The site you are now browsing contains over 500 definitions of words drawn from Standard Internet English including technical terms and their meanings. Our aim is to explain basic technical jargon of cyberspace to those who are not familiar with its jargon. We've given preference to terms that are widely used, like modem or bandwidth, and to those that describe new concepts specific to the Internet experience such as phishing or sexting.
Napster
a free software application developed by Napster Inc., founded by John Fanning and his nephew Shawn Fanning (Shawn wrote the program code), that allows a user to download music over the Internet using the MP3 format. Additionally, the program allows users access to a worldwide library of music maintained by subscribers, as well as the ability to chat online. The company claims more than 20 million users. The name Napster was Shawn Fanning’s childhood nickname. Napster has stirred a great deal of controversy over intellectual property rights. Many artists have spoken out against Napster as they feel their work is being taken without payment. At present, several lawsuits have been filed to stop the upstart company from facilitating the distribution of copyrighted music. Proponents maintain that subscribers simply allow other subscribers to borrow music they own, thus contend, no copyright violation. In the summer of 2000, the US Senate listened to testimony of artists claiming financial harm from the company as well as a representative of the firm con-tending no laws have been broken. Shortly thereafter, a federal judge ordered the site to shut down. It is almost certain that this issue will end up being resolved in court.
