Historical eventDecember 61999

A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc.

A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc.: The Recording Industry Association of America sues the peer-to-peer file-sharing service Napster, alleging copyright infringement.

Everything on December 6Original source

In context

When
Monday, December 6 199927 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
20th century · 1990s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 1999.

Place: United States.

Type: legal case.

What came before

Background Napster was founded in 1999 by 18 year-old Shawn Fanning . [ 1 ] Napster provided a platform for users to download compressed digital music files, specifically MP3s , from other users' music libraries. Unlike many peer-to-peer services, however, Napster included a central server that indexed connected users and files available on their machines, creating a searchable list of music available across Napster's network.

Timeline

Follows: A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc., 114 F.Supp.2d 896.

What happened

A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc., 239 F.3d 1004 was a landmark intellectual property case in which the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court ruling that the defendant, peer-to-peer file sharing service Napster, could be held liable for contributory infringement and vicarious infringement of copyright. This was the first major case to address the application of copyright laws to peer-to-peer file sharing.

December 6 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1990Italian Air Force
  2. 1991Yugoslav Wars
  3. 1992Babri Masjid
  4. 1995Food and Drug Administration
  5. 1998Venezuela
  6. 1999Recording Industry Association of America
  7. 1999A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc.
  8. 2005Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force
  9. 2006NASA
  10. 20152015 Venezuelan parliamentary election
  11. 2017Donald Trump

Also in 1999

  • September 9Singapore Portrait Series currency notesThe first banknotes of the Portrait Series of the Singapore dollar were introduced by the Board of Commissioners of Currency.
  • September 14KiribatiKiribati, Nauru and Tonga join the United Nations.
  • October 22Maurice PaponMaurice Papon, an official in the Vichy government during World War II, is jailed for crimes against humanity.
  • May 25United States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives releases the Cox Report which details China's nuclear espionage against the U.S. over the prio…
  • August 101999 Los Angeles Jewish Community Center shootingOne person is killed and five people are injured in the Los Angeles Jewish Community Center shooting.
  • January 3Mars Polar LanderThe Mars Polar Lander is launched by NASA.
  • November 27New Zealand Labour PartyThe Labour Party defeated the governing National Party in the New Zealand general election, with Labour's Helen Clark becoming the countr…
  • July 5Bill ClintonU.S. President Bill Clinton imposes trade and economic sanctions against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

Everything we record for 1999 →

Sources

Cite this page

“A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc.”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/a-m-records-inc-v-napster-inc-1999-december-6, accessed October 27, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about this entry

When did A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc. happen?

December 6 1999 — 27 years ago, on a Monday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

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