Napster
CulturalDiscover More
Napster became a symbol of the highly significant battle over the concept of intellectual property rights as it applies to the Internet.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The practice was pioneered by the Recording Industry Assn. of America, when the industry feared that unauthorized downloading of music through programs such as Napster threatened its very existence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
Lawsuits eventually drove Napster into bankruptcy, and the era of totally free music came to an end.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 2026
A lot of people around my age might read those words and be instantly thrown back to the days of dial-up internet, MSN Messenger and Napster.
From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2026
Enshittification has been something I’ve been warning people about since the Napster wars.
From Slate ● Oct. 13, 2025
On the other hand, Napster seemed to fit very nicely under the rule announced in the Sony case.
From The Public Domain Enclosing the Commons of the Mind by James Boyle
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.