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More artists to sue Napster says Metallica lawyer

Class action in the offing?

Expect more headline acts to follow Metallica's lead and launch legal action against controversial software developer Napster - so says the metal band's lawyer, Howard King. "There are going to be more lawsuits filed in the next few weeks by prominent artists," King told the Guardian newspaper. King handles the legal affairs not only of Metallica, but The Offspring, Smashing Pumpkins and the Goo Goo Dolls. King also represents rapper Dr. Dre, who this week demanded that Napster remove MP3 versions of his tracks from the company's directory. "The suits will be remarkably similar to Metallica's," said King of the coming legal action. King certainly seems to be the prime mover here, contacting artists to demonstrate Napster's self-named MP3 cataloguing software to them. It's not quite ambulance chasing, but King certainly seems to have scented a mood of hostility among name acts and is trying to get as many involved in legal action as he can. King said a number of artists had also contacted him, after the Metallica suit was filed earlier this month. Metallica said on Thursday it would cease action against Indiana University, one of five US educational institutions also named in its anti-Napster suit, after the university reimposed a ban on the software. Yale University, also named in the suit, banned the software just over a week ago. ® Related Stories Metallica lets second uni off the hook after Napster ban Metallica drops Yale from anti-Napster suit Pro-Napster hackers hit Metallica Metallica sues Napster

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