The RIAA has initial win in the legal battle against Napster, with a judge rejecting Napster's claim that it is a "mere conduit.'' This isn't meaning anything yet, but doesn't promise much good for the outcome of the case. As you may remember, MP3.com was recently found liable in their case so it looks like the big money corporations are finally cracking down the whole MP3 thing. Of course there are still more programs, and just a lot of people with mp3's.

Damien Hawkes let us know that Inter Sandman, the online Metallica Club has posted news that Metallica is sueing Napster as well as the University of Southern California, Yale University and Indiana University for illegal distribution of their intellectual property.

Further the suit states that, "Napster has devised and distributed software whose sole purpose is to permit Napster to profit by abetting and encouraging the pirating of the creative efforts of the world's most admired and successful musical artists. Facilitating that effort are the hypocritical universities and colleges who could easily block this insidious and on going thievery scheme. The last link in the chain are the end users of the stolen musical works, students of these universities and others who exhibit the moral fiber of common looters loading up shopping carts because "everybody else is doing it."

Seems its lawsuit after lawsuit now, and even bands themselves are starting to sue (first it was just general music organizations such as the RIAA).

News on CNet that there is a hack available for Napster, called Wrapster that allows distribution of any kind of file over the Napster network, which was built for MP3 transfers. Interesting is that CNet has no links in the story to the Napster site, but does link to RIAA and MPAA. What is up with that?