AfterDawn: News

Sharman gets OK to sue enterntainment industry

Sharman Networks, the company behind Kazaa P2P software, and Altnet can go ahead suing US entertainment industry, after Judge Stephen Wilson refused to dismiss Sharman's antitrust claims. Last summer Judge Wilsom dismissed Sharman's antitrust claims.

In his ruling, Judge Wilson acknowledged that Sharman Networks has every right to pursue its claims that the record label and motion picture plaintiffs in the lawsuit have infringed Sharman's copyrights. Unlike the plaintiffs' claims that third parties are infringing their copyrights, the court has ruled that Sharman may pursue its claim that these plaintiffs directly and through their agents infringed Sharman's copyrights. In addition, Sharman Networks can now also pursue its claims that the industry plaintiffs breached the End User License Agreement (EULA) for the Kazaa software by:

• Using the Kazaa software to transmit and download spoofed or corrupted files.
  
• Violating state and federal personal privacy laws and the rights of individual computer users by hacking and exploring files located on their computers.
  
• Using the Kazaa Software's instant messenger functionality to send threatening messages to other users of Kazaa software.

Source: Press release

Written by: Jari Ketola @ 27 Jan 2004 11:54

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• 11 comments

• Rodgers

  Go get them Sharman, we are pulling for you. It seems that the Music and Video worlds think nothing of violating all kinds of laws, yet they cry wolf when they think someone is doing the same to them. We need some judges that stand up for the little guys and rule favorable for the common folks. We wish you success in all of your endeavors.
  Best to All
  Rodgers

  28.1.2004 05:52 #1

• loginasme

  This is very good news. The RIAA are finally realising that you can't make people buy music by scaring them, they target there own customers, they hack their own customers because they don't trust them. What sort of a business is this!
  
  Good Luck to the Sharman Networks.

  28.1.2004 08:09 #2

• Gia1

  Right On!!!!! Give them a taste of their own medicine!!! See how much they like getting sued. Right On!!!

  29.1.2004 00:32 #3

• vudoo

  Reliable sources are saying that one of the members of the anti p2p industries started the MyDoom virus. It is no coincidence that it started on Kazaa and worked its way around. Sharman needs to stand up against the entertainment industry and especially the RIAA and then just you watch the RIAA will be having a out of court settlement where Kazaa’s ads support the RIAA and it will be FREE and legal to exchange files on kazaa. I know this is the case and it is a matter of time when kazaa wins the battle and then all p2p companies will have ad-ware to support the RIAA. I don’t mind this as long as its only banners with in the app and not those damn popups generated by Gator and several others. I don’t like spyware either. However I feel that the ads will be a compromise in the future. You can’t tell me the RIAA can’t make money from Ad-Supportive p2p. It will be interesting as I watch my prediction come true.
  
  Voodoohippie

  29.1.2004 10:17 #4

• GrayArea

  Users of Kazaa lite, check this link. Sharman Networks sited the DMCA to block some search results when searching for "kazaa lite", "kazaalite" etc back in Sept of 2003. Just an odd little bit of slag.
  
  http://www.chillingeffects.org/dmca512/notice.cgi?NoticeID=861

  29.1.2004 11:33 #5

• GrayArea

  Forgot to mention in the post above that it was Google search results for "kazaalite" that were being blocked. D'oh!

  29.1.2004 11:39 #6

• vudoo

  Not playing devils advocate but the Adware pays for Kazaa. In turn Kazaa has been fighting for the rights of filesharing. I I may actually but Kazaa Plus but run the hack just to help support the cause. Its time that everyone ban together to fight the enemy. The enemy is not Kazaa but the RIAA. kazaa used Kazaa Lite to help defeat the RIAA. They could really care less if you use it (well maybe they do because they need the support).

  29.1.2004 11:47 #7

• Toiletman

  Heheheheh, the RIAA's plan just back fired into their arse and now they're talking shit again. Well, they bullshit a lot anyway.
  
  Good luck to Sharman Networks, and I hope RIAA gets at least a little bit of trouble over this.

  30.1.2004 08:11 #8

• mrcapone

  Knock em dead Sharman!

  30.1.2004 11:36 #9

• cleft

  When you listen to the spin the RIAA puts out, it is like listening to a hydra. You never know which mouth is talking.
  
  Recently they were in the news for using "pirated" copies of software, rather than buying them on a "per seat" basis. Shows you just what they believe in; that it is ok for everyone to do so except for when their money is involved. The line of thinking extends to what they define as "their money". If profits are down, that is "their money" missing. Then they came up with this marvelous scheme to get it back, just sue the consumer and get it back.
  
  We should really ask ourselves if we want to support this sort of business tactic by buying products that are linked to the RIAA. Personally, they lost my money quite some time ago. Your dollar is a vote in what you believe in. No one votes for it, it goes under. This dinosaurs time has come....
  

  Experience is usually gained after you need it.

  1.2.2004 04:50 #10

• vudoo

  I hope the courts sock it to the RIAA. Yes I've heard all about their pirating schemes and the like. It really sucks that they can't practice what they preach. I think there should be an ad campaign about the RIAA and their swill tatics.
  
  Voodoohippi

  1.2.2004 09:42 #11