Election Section

SAN FRANCISCO — The number of songs being traded through Napster Inc. has dropped sharply since the company began policing its system for unauthorized songs, a research firm reported Thursday. 

Napster users were downloading 50 percent fewer files as the company beefed up its screening technology Wednesday, according to Webnoize, a firm that has followed Napster usage closely. 

Prior to upgrading its system in order to block access to infringing content, the average number of files shared per Napster user was 172.  

After the upgrade, the average number of files shared per user dropped to 71, Webnoize reported. 

Napster officials continue to disagree with the recording industry about the burdens the company must bear in policing its system for unauthorized content. 

Napster told U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel in a document filed Monday that “critical disputes” have arisen with the recording industry. 

The Redwood City-based company says the record labels are wrong in thinking the March 5 order meant Napster must search for infringing content even prior to proper notification form copyright holders. 

More specifically, Napster says many of the submissions of copyright works from the recording industry have no associated file names for the company to block. 

“Where a file name is connected to the work in the notice, Napster will exclude them. Where no file name is connected to the work, Napster will not,” the company’s compliance report to the court read. 

The recording industry has said Napster’s niggling over particulars is an attempt to buy more time. 

“We are not going to debate the fine points of the order’s implementation. We believe the court’s intent is clear.  

“Napster is required to stop infringing. Stall tactics are unacceptable,” RIAA spokeswoman Amy Weiss said Monday. 

Napster says the recording industry is failing to share the workload and provide required information. 

Part of the problem, according to Napster, is that the growing costs of implementing the new screening technology has interrupted other business plans. 

Napster claims it has spent $150,000 and more than 2,700 employee hours to develop and implement a screening technology to block access to unauthorized content. 

On Tuesday, Napster announced it had signed a deal with Gracenote, a Berkeley-based company that maintains a database of more than 12 million musical works cataloged by artist and title, including spelling variations that may have slipped through Napster’s system in the past. 

Pig Latin translators that automatically twist the names of artists and song titles proved popular as users sought an end-around to Napster’s screening technology.  

But Napster has cracked down on that, too. 

At the request of Napster, file-sharing firm Aimster removed from its Web site a program based on pig Latin that enabled users to continue sharing songs with slightly altered words. 

CLAIMING PROBLEMS  

Part of the problem, according to Napster, is that the growing costs of implementing the new screening technology has interrupted other business plans. Napster claims it has spent $150,000 and more than 2,700  

employee hours to develop and implement a screening technology to block access to unauthorized content.