The lengthy trial ended in February 2001 when the judge ruled Napster had 72 hours to remove the files from their system.  Napster has since returned with a legal service, but other networks continue to fall foul of US law.  Grokster was shut down in November 2005. 

The RIAA has also brought lawsuits against individual file sharers, using the US Digital Millennium Copyright law.  The first convictions of individuals were handed down in January 2005.

The EU has opted for a different approach.  The European Commission proposed a choice of EU-wide licenses in its recommendation from October last year.  The European Parliament also addressed music downloads when it passed an anti-piracy directive in 2004.  The law was drawn up to target professional pirates and counterfeiters of all kinds, not facilitate the prosecution of large numbers of individuals.

Nevertheless action against individuals has been taken in a number of European countries.  The British Phonographic Industry recently launched a new wave of legal cases against users identified as large-scale file sharers.  When the offender is a minor, the parents are liable to pay the price.  Out of court settlements are typically four figure sums in pounds or euro.

Recently France's lower house of parliament has surprised many, by voting to legalise peer-to-peer file-sharing of films and music on the internet.  This has sparked a furious reaction from the country's film, audiovisual and music industry organisations.  If the measure passes in the upper house, France would become the first country to legalise peer-to-peer downloading at a time when most countries are working to outlaw it.

Meanwhile, the legal downloading of music continues to reach new milestones.  Apple’s iTunes service celebrated its one billionth download on 22 February.