Madster (initially called Aimster) was a

peer-to-peer Peer-to-peer (P2P) computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads between peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the network. They are said to form a peer-to-peer ...

file sharing File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digital media, such as computer programs, multimedia (audio, images and video), documents or electronic books. Common methods of storage, transmission and dispersion include r ...

service. It was released in Napster's wake in August 2000 shut down in December 2002 as a result of a lawsuit by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Origin

According to John Deep, a professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the Madster software was originally inspired by his daughter's use of

instant messaging Instant messaging (IM) technology is a type of online chat allowing real-time text transmission over the Internet or another computer network. Messages are typically transmitted between two or more parties, when each user inputs text and trigge ...

software. His idea was to combine instant messaging with

. John Deep's daughter Aimee had an interest in providing privacy to her online friends; instant messaging was lacking when it came to privacy protection.

Features

The Madster service was initially called Aimster, but it was later renamed to Madster due to concerns that the Aimster name infringed AOL's AIM (AOL Instant Messenger)

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...

. The Madster software allowed users to share files via

services. In particular, users could share files specifically with users who were included on a " buddy list" with the advantage of privacy. Around March 2001, support for encrypted network communications was included in a new release of the Madster software (at the time, the Aimster name was still in use.) Among other things, the Madster service hoped that the US

Digital Millennium Copyright Act The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a 1998 United States copyright law that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). It criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or ...

would have the effect of prohibiting others from monitoring the encrypted Madster network communications. In addition, the Madster operators argued that the encryption meant that they could not be aware of any copyright infringement that took place. Later on, around April-May 2001, a service was introduced wherein a network including tens of thousands of people could be searched for music and other content and new users would by default be added to this network although users could choose to instead restrict trading to buddy list members. At one point, the company announced a premium service that was available for US$4.95 per month. '' PC Magazine'' gave Madster a 1 out of 5 rating of "Dismal," based on interface design, partner advertising, and content selection.

Recording industry collaboration

In 2000, for a short time, Capitol Records authorized Madster (which was called Aimster at the time) to provide some Radiohead video files on the service's Web site and to release a

skin Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different de ...

for the Madster software that had a Radiohead theme. This collaboration was done for the purpose of promoting a new Radiohead album.

Legal problems and shutdown

In December 2002, the company was ordered by a federal judge to disconnect its computer systems from the Internet. Earlier on in September, the court stated that Aimster had knowledge of copyright infringements, including a Web-based "Aimster Guardian" tutorial that showed copyrighted materials and the tracking of popular songs on the service via "Club Aimster"; the latter also indicated contribution to infringing activity and the monthly fees for the service indicated a financial interest for the Aimster operators in conjunction with infringing usage. The requirement for users to sign up and log in to use the service meant that Aimster was in a position to control the activities of its users. The injunction to disconnect was upheld in June 2003 by the decision in '' In re Aimster Copyright Litigation'' of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In particular, it was found that Madster's support of encrypted file sharing was " willful blindness" and was not a valid defense with regard to copyright infringement. At the same time, a company could avoid copyright liability if it was "highly burdensome" for the company to detect and prevent copyright infringement. In January 2004, the

US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...

refused without explanation to hear an appeal of the lower court's ruling. Madster was represented in court by Boies, Schiller & Flexner, the same law firm which defended Napster. In 2005, Deep sued Boies for

malpractice In the law of torts, malpractice, also known as professional negligence, is an "instance of negligence or incompetence on the part of a professional".Malpractice definition, Professionals who may become the subject of malpractice actions inc ...

and

misappropriation In law, misappropriation is the unauthorized use of another's name, likeness, identity, property, discoveries, inventions, etc without that person's permission, resulting in harm to that person. Another use of the word refers to intentional a ...

, but lost the case in 2008.

References

External links

A 'blog' ostensibly written by Madeline Deep
{{File sharing File sharing software Windows file sharing software Discontinued software Internet services shut down by a legal challenge