In an abrupt reversal, SunnComm Technologies said Friday that it will not sue a Princeton University graduate student who published a paper that describes how to bypass CD copy-protection technology simply by pressing the Shift key. SunnComm had angrily assailed Princeton doctoral student John “Alex” Halderman just a day before, claiming that his academic paper …

A brand-new Napster unveiled its digital face Thursday morning, a year after the once-proud file-swapping service was sold in pieces in bankruptcy court. The new digital music service, owned by CD- and DVD-burning software company Roxio, bears little resemblance to the original anarchic Napster. In its place is something like a cross between Apple Computer’s iTunes download store and the …

A New York man was sentenced to six months in jail after being convicted of using the Internet to sell hundreds of CDs that were loaded with unauthorized copies of songs. Alvin A. Davis, 42, of Brooklyn, was also ordered to pay $3,329.50 for selling pirated music via his Web site. Judge Reggie B. Walton of the U.S. District Court …

Capitalizing on the re-aunch of Napster on Thursday, Samsung has announced a new digital audio player that can store up to 5,000 songs on its 20GB hard drive. The company said the co-branded YP-910GS is the only player that’s designed to operate with the Napster 2.0 service. Subscribers will be able to access more than 500,000 songs from all five …

Apple Computer is expected next week to expand its online music service to Windows-based computers. The Mac maker has scheduled an event for next Thursday at San Francisco’s Moscone West convention hall. “The year’s biggest music story is about to get even bigger,” Apple said in an invitation to journalists. The company is expected to launch the long-awaited Windows version …

At an open meeting Wednesday of a peer-to-peer forum backed by the parent company of Kazaa, the discussion will turn to a seemingly improbable concept: how to eliminate piracy from file-swapping networks. But in their bid to win respectability–as well as economic and legal breathing room–that’s just what Distributed Computing Industry Alliance (DCIA) founding members Sharman Networks and the affiliated …

Charter Communications has filed a lawsuit in an effort to bar the Recording Industry Association of America from obtaining the identities of its cable customers that have allegedly traded songs illegally online. The cable company on Friday filed a “motion to quash” the RIAA’s requests for the names of 150 Charter customers who the trade group claims violated copyright law …

Earthstation 5 has released a new edition of its file-swapping software, responding to reports that running older versions could allow hackers to delete critical files on a user’s computer. The concerns were raised in a bulletin posted to security lists last week by a programmer with the pseudonym Random Nut, who . In an e-mail statement sent to CNET News.com …

The reconstituted Napster music service will be unveiled on Oct. 9, according to CD and DVD software company Roxio, its new corporate parent. Roxio has spent tens of millions of dollars over the past year to position itself in the increasingly crowded online music distribution business. The Napster it launches next week will be much different from the original–there won’t …

Musicmatch on Monday announced its entry into the digital song-selling business, and sources say PC maker Dell will be one of the first companies to promote the new download service to consumers. As previously reported, the Internet music software company’s service, which will provide a new online rival to Apple Computer’s iTunes and to BuyMusic, uses the popular Musicmatch Jukebox …

With a pitch that evokes the heady days of 1999, digital music start-up Mercora is planning to launch a distribution service next month, inspired in equal parts by iTunes, Friendster and eBay. Headed by former McAfee CEO Srivats Sampath, the upstart will edge into terrain that has already been staked out by the likes of Apple Computer, with iTunes, Musicmatch …

SoundExchange, the organization created by the Recording Industry Association of America to distribute Webcasting royalties, said Tuesday that it completed its spinoff from its parent. The newly independent group retains a board membership with control split evenly between representatives from record companies and artists. By law, the organization is required to give 45 percent of Webcasting royalty revenue directly to …

The Recording Industry Association of America is facing a legal challenge to its antipiracy tactics, even as it announces that it has reached settlements in dozens of lawsuits against individuals. In a move that could complicate the RIAA’s pursuit of peer-to-peer pirates, the American Civil Liberties Union said Monday it had filed court documents accusing the trade association of illegally …

A peer-to-peer group says it will cover costs for a 12-year-old New York girl who agreed to pay record labels $2,000 to settle a file-swapping lawsuit. P2P United, a peer-to-peer industry trade group that includes Grokster, StreamCast Networks, LimeWire and other file-trading software companies, said Wednesday it had offered to reimburse Brianna Lahara and her mother’s payment to the Recording …

MusicMatch plans to jump into the digital song-selling business next week, with Dell promoting the company’s new download service, sources familiar with the plan said. The Internet music software company’s service, which will provide a new online rival to Apple Computer’s iTunes and BuyMusic, will use the popular MusicMatch Jukebox software and will distribute music in Microsoft’s Windows Media format, …