Copyright music flowed freely on the Napster tune-swapping service Sunday after-noon as users waited to see if the company would fulfill a promise to block pirated songs sometime over the weekend using a new screening system. All the top 10 songs listed on the Billboard hot 100 list were available on the company’s servers, including the No.1 “Stutter” by Joe featuring Mystikal. Songs by longtime Napster foe Metallica also showed up in searches.

The company will not comment on the screening plan until it begins, spokeswoman Karen DeMarco said Sunday. She would not say when that would be. With the service facing imminent change, usage was soaring. More than 11,100 people shared 2.2 million files Sunday afternoon on just one of dozens of servers used by Naps.

During a federal court hearing Friday, Napster attorney David Boies said the service would deploy the screening system over the weekend. He did not provide a specific time. On its Web site, Napster said the process of screening out file manes song titles and artists won’t be easy.

Peninsula Daily News. March 5, 2001 Section C