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Music-sharing site Napster is back in court with yet another party: competing site EMusic and the producers of the Grammy Awards.

EMusic, a subscription-based music download company, alleges in a suit filed Wednesday that Napster is guilty of vicarious and contributory copyright infringement by allowing EMusic's licensed songs to be traded on its network. The MP3-trading company is already under heavy fire from the Recording Industry Association of America and its member record labels.

The RIAA made the same copyright infringement charge much earlier, but EMusic goes further. Attorneys for the site say Napster's reliance on these two types of copyright infringement to build its business constitutes unfair competition. EMusic is asking that Napster be enjoined from trading any tunes that EMusic markets. It wants any profits Napster has made from these songs, the maximum damages allowable under the law, and attorney's fees.

Ironically, EMusic's founder has had kind words for the rival site. Napster taught Internet users how to download MP3s, and drew interest to the Web as a source of music, said Bob Kohn, EMusic chief executive officer, at a legal conference last September.

EMusic, Grammys Want a Cut

In its brief, EMusic says it is the exclusive licensee for digital downloads of the songs on its site. Because Napster lets those songs be traded on its own network, Napster violates EMusic's license, the site contends. EMusic has notified Napster of these infringements, but Napster took no action, according to the brief.

EMusic argues that Napster can and should stop its users from trading these files. Napster had previously argued that such a step was technologically impossible, but reversed course last week. On Monday it began blocking tens of thousands of songs from its directory.

The National Academy of Recording Art and Sciences, the producers of last month's Grammy Awards, also filed a separate suit. Performances from the program, notably rapper Eminem's duet with Elton John, are appearing on Napster. The producers say they planned to release an album of performances from the broadcast, but the songs' availability on Napster has caused them to reevaluate their plans.

Grammys Raise New Issues

The Grammy suit could have "far-reaching implications for fair use," says Ric Dube, an analyst with the digital-entertainment research firm Webnoize. It concerns the trading of live songs transferred from television to PC by consumers, which is new virtual ground.

But EMusic's suit is not a surprise, Dube says. EMusic has been watching the RIAA's suit closely. Also, any settlement between Napster and the RIAA could translate to other suits, such as EMusic's, he adds.

The flood of lawsuits against Napster points to a "distressing" state of affairs, Dube said.

"These days it's very difficult for a company with a bright idea to get the ear of a major media company. It seems that lawsuits have almost become part of business plans," he says, citing MP3.com, which, rather than asking record company permission to create its My.MP3.com service, simply started it and later secured licenses after the labels sued.

EMusic faces other challenges, struggling financially and in its public image, Dube notes. The company wanted to be a major player in the digital music world, but instead is a niche player catering to independent record labels.

Both the EMusic and Grammy suits were filed in the Northern District Court of California, the same court hearing the RIAA suit. EMusic filed a similar suit against MP3.com's My.MP3.com service in December.

Court Pressures Napster

A company is guilty of contributory copyright infringement when it facilitates the act of infringement, as Napster is charged with doing by providing its service. Vicarious infringement is the result of a company having the power to stop the infringement and failing to do so, as well as having a financial interest in the infringement.

The RIAA sued Napster in December 1999 for copyright infringement. The company has maneuvered through a series of court dates, remaining to stay open and operate freely.

However, an injunction handed down Tuesday by U.S. District Court judge Marilyn Hall Patel forces Napster, in cooperation with the RIAA, to begin filtering songs on its network by next week.

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