Napster moves to protect copyright

Bertelsmann, the German entertainment giant that is working with Napster, has announced that the music download company will use its digital copyright protection technology.

The move is part of an agreement between the two companies to create a fee-based subscription service to Napster's music sharing facility. The copyright protection technology is being developed by Bertelsmann subsidiary, Digital World Services.

Napster chief executive, Hank Barry said: "This announcement underscores one key fact: the real questions about Napster's future are economic, not technical or legal."

"Our alliance with Bertelsmann was our first important step towards a model that makes payments to artists, songwriters and other rightsholders," he added.

The technology enables a protection layer to be added to MP3 files as they are traded between users. It would also allow for further restrictions to be placed on what can be done with the transferred files, such as limit the ability to burn them onto CDs, explained Napster.

The announcement comes days after a US court of appeals ruled that Napster would be liable for copyright infringement if it fails to monitor the swapping of music that is protected by copyright.