The controversy over digital music swapping continued on May 17 as rapper Dr. Dre followed the lead of heavy metal rock band Metallica.

The controversy revolves around the digital music format MP3. ZDNet News explains MP3 as a compression format used to convert music on CDs into computer files.

Each one of these files has a unique code signature called MD5.

The software of San Mateo based company Napster allows users to trade libraries of MP3 files located on their computers.

According to Allstar news on Cdnow.com, Dre presented Napster with a list of over 239,000 of its users who allegedly downloaded nearly one million of Dre’s copyrighted songs.

Metallica had presented the company with it’s own list of over 300,000 users on May 4.

Metallica demanded, and Napster has since complied, that the accused users be disabled from using the software.

Dre however, has asked the company to delete his copyrighted works from its directory, rather than disable the users.

“We didn’t want anyone to lose sight of the fact that all Metallica and Dr. Dre are asking is that the songs be deleted from the directory, not that users be barred from the service,” said Howard King in an interview with CNET news.com.

King is the Los Angeles attorney who represents Metallica and Dre.

Along with Dre’s list of user names he provided a list of MD5 file signatures for each illegal song.

Dre requested that the MD5 signatures of the MP3 files be blocked from the software.

However, Napster spokesperson Dan Wool told CNET news.com, “Napster doesn’t host or store files. The only action we have as a service provider is to block users.”

Allstar news reported that Dre made this request originally before filing a lawsuit against Napster on April 25.

They refused to comply at that time, which prompted the suit.

CNET news.com reported Metallica’s filing of a lawsuit with Napster on April 13.

The lawsuits began back in 1999 when CNET news.com reported that the Recording Industry Association of America filed a lawsuit on December 7.

They are in search of an injunction against Napster and legal damages from $500 to $100,000 per sound recording that has been illegally swapped through Napster’s software.

On May 8 CNET news.com reported a small victory for the Recording Industry Association of America when U.S. District Court Judge, Marilyn Patel in San Francisco, denied Napster’s argument.

The argument stated that they are the equivalent of an internet service provider and should not be liable for its user’s actions.