Napster leftovers up for auction

December 11, 2002 —

Consumers looking for the perfect holiday gift for that little file swapper in their family might want to check out DoveBid Inc.'s auction site Wednesday, where some remains of fallen peer-to-peer company Napster Inc. are up for grabs.

Users reminiscing over the booming beginnings of file swapping may want to bid on an old Napster router, server or baby doll T-shirt. Although Napster's brand name, intellectual property and technology were acquired by digital media software company Roxio Inc. last month, the company's leftovers are being auctioned off by order of the U.S. bankruptcy court.

Napster filed for bankruptcy earlier this year after losing a prolonged battle with the Recording Industry Association of America Inc., the Motion Picture Association of America and other entertainment powerhouses that sought to shut the company down for copyright infringement.

But despite Napster's demise, the P-to-P pioneer lives on through its numerous file trading progeny such as Kazaa, and Morpheus, who are currently fighting their own legal battles against the entertainment groups.

The DoveBid auction of Napster remains is being held live in Santa Clara, California, but is also accessible via webcast at http://www.dovebid.com. The auction ends at 5 p.m. PST.

ITworld.com