German media conglomerate Bertelsmann said Tuesday that it has formed an alliance with online music-swapping service Napster, signaling a significant shift in the so far hostile face-off between the major record labels and the start-up. [News.com]

Article explaining how Napster works and why the music industry is against it. [News.com]

Federal Judge Marilyn Hall Patel released the details of her decision ordering the company to close its digital doors. [News.com]

A panel of appellate judges harshly grilled lawyers for both Napster and the recording industry before adjourning without a decision today in the latest round of a closely watched legal clash that pits the Internet against copyright laws. [News.com]

Nine hours before it would have been forced to shut down its music-swapping service, Napster has won a temporary reprieve. [News.com]

Napster's message for the courts and the recording industry is that downloading songs online without payment is legal. [News.com]

Article about the new open source program Gnutella which shares music files over the internet, similar to Napster. [News.com]

A new copyright law designed to protect the works of songwriters, is being tested in a case that pits the powerful recording industry against a wildly popular but controversial music start-up Napster. [News.com]

Fans of the online music-swapping company downloaded 1.39 billion songs in September, transforming the hotly contested technology into one of the Internet's most popular applications, according to new studies. [News.com]

Despite the uncertain outcome of a court case that threatens to deal Napster a potentially fatal blow, the music-swapping service has released an updated version of its software that makes it easier to find specific songs and bands. [News.com]