Napster's back from the dead

NEWS The long-anticipated resurrection of Napster appears complete today with news that Roxio has finally completed its purchase of assets from the bankrupt file-swapping company. Napster's technology and brand name have been on the auction block for months, after the company declared bankruptcy in June, and bidders have come and gone. German media giant Bertelsmann had initially agreed to purchase the company for $9m, but the agreement fell apart after a bankruptcy court blocked the purchase. Roxio offers a music subscription service through Pressplay, a service owned by several major music labels. The company has made recent moves toward creating its own independent service, striking a music licensing deal with record label EMI. It's not yet clear how Roxio plans to use Napster's technology, however. Roxio said in a statement "The company will be announcing its plan for the development of Napster in the coming months." Roxio agreed to pay $5m for Napster's patent portfolio and other intellectual property several weeks ago. Yet Roxio isn't taking on Napster's legal liabilities, including any that stem from the record companies' pending copyright lawsuit against the former file-swapping giant. Record companies have only recently begun to give technology companies licenses to let subscribers burn their own CDs from downloaded music. This new development could help give Roxio a more solid foothold in the music distribution business, as it creates one of the most widely distributed CD software packages. John Borland writes for News.com